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THE    FARMER'S 


PRACTICAL 


HAND-BOOK 


OF 


Agricdltdral  Chemistry 


COMPILED    BY 

W.  W.  MEMMINGER,  M.  D.. 
ft 

CHEMIST  ETlWAN  WOEKS. 


CHAHLESTOK,  S.  C. 

Walker,  eyans  &  gogswell,  printers, 

Nos.  8  Broad  and  109  East  Bay  Streets. 
1876, 


(o  I- 


Entered  aeeordi-'g  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876,  by 

W.  W.  MFIMMINGKR, 

Chemist  of  Sulphuric  Acid  and  Superphosphate  Co., 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 

2,/ V  ^-t^ 


TO  THE  FARMERS  OF  THE  SOUTH 


An  effort  has  been  made  to  place  in  your  hands  a  pamphlet 
containing  useful  knowledge.  No  originality  is  claimed  as  we 
have  been  largely  indebted  for  our  factg  and  figures  to  several 
notable  works  on  agricultural  chemistry.  In  some  instances 
the  text  has  been  copied,  and  in  others  re-written.  Among  those 
books  chiefly  used,  are  American  Manures,  and  Johnson,  Sibson 
and  Morfit's  publications. 

It  has  been  written  for  the  use  of  the  customers  of  the  Etiwan 
Company,  and  is  intended  to  convey  to  them  practical  hints  as 
to  the  use  of  our  Fertilizers. 

1  am  indebted  to  a  farmer  friend  for  the  introductory  chapter, 
and  for  the  article  prescribing  the  proportion  of  composted  fer- 
tilizers to  be  used  on  different  grades  of  land. 

It  is  hoped  that  you  will,  in  the  course  of  this  year,  supply 
im  with  practical  information,  so  as  to  enable  us  to  revise  and 
republish  an  improved  edition  next  year. 

W.  W.  MEMMINGEB,  M.  D., 

Chemist  Etiwan  Works. 


CHAPTER     I.         yf V-^  OF^mii  -^~ 

UNIVERSITY 


INTEODUCTION. 

The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  has  become  a  necessity  of 
our  age  and  situation. 

There  are  those  who  cavil,  and  say  the  sale  of  guanos  will 
ruin  the  country.  The  only  answer  we  have  to  make  is  the 
fact  that  the  average  planter  has  sense  enough  to  know,  after 
the  test  of  seven  or  eight  years,  that  he  makes  annually  a  profit 
by  the  purchase,  and  use  of  the  same. 

That  the  annual  sale  of  such  manures  increases  and  will  in- 
crease; that  England  and  Belgium  both  use  more  commercial 
fertilizers  than  the  entire  United  States,  though  the  area  of 
the  two  countries  combined  is  less  than  one-sixtieth  the  area  of 
the  United  States. 

The  abuse  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  to  be  regretted,  and  is  a 
source  of  loss  to  the  careless  and  slovenly  farmer. 

Among  the  abuses  we  may  reckon: 

1st.  The  application  of  a  good  fertilizer  to  improperly  cleared, 
or  wet  and  undrained  lands,  or  to  lands  destitute  of  vegetable 
mattei',  neither  of  which  can  make  a  proper  return,  or  the 
careless  and  improper  cultivation  of  any  lands  of  any  grade  on 
which  such  fertilizers  are  used. 

2nd.  The  purchase  of  spurious  and  worthless  articles,  simply 
because  they  are  considered  cheap,  and  are  sold  on  accommo- 
dating terms. 

That  class  who  improperly  use  and  always  abuse  the  sale  of 
fertilizers  are  always  subject  to  imposition  by  designing  manip- 
ulators. They  lay  themselves  open  and  fall  a  ready  prey  to  the 
designing  seller.  » 

This  pamphlet  is  gotten  up  for  the  use  of,  and  addressed  to 
the  planters  of  cotton,  tobacco,  and  those  crops  raised  south  of 
tbe  Potomac,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver.  If  the  intelli- 
gent planter  in  that  section  will  for  a  moment  consider,  he  will 
see  that  the  Charleston  Basin  is  his  natural  source  of  supply  so 
far  as  bone  phosphate  of  lime  is  concerned,  nor  can  he  see  any 
sensible  reason  why  these  crude  phosphates  should  be  shipped 
to  Boston,  or  any  other  point  North,  to  be  worked  up,  and  in 
some  cases  adulterated,  and  returned  to  him  for  use,  whilst 
the  competition  between  our  own  manipulators  is  so  great  that 
he  can  reasonably  expect  the  price  to  be  low  enough  for  no  un- 
reasonable profits  10  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  manufacturers. 

A  hue  and  cry  comes  from  all  corners  of  the  land  to  raise 
money  and  build  cotton  factories.     Every  cotton  planter  longs 


6 

to  see  the  day  in  which  every  pound  of  cotton  he  produces  will 
be  spun  into  yarn  or  woven  into  cloth  by  machinery  driven 
by  the  neighboring  streams.  He  tells  the  capitalist  that  these 
factories  pay  twenty  to  thirty  per  cent,  net  profit.  The  Charles- 
ton manipulators  of  fertilizers  have  not  pocketed  the  one-half 
of  that  net  profit  from  the  commencement  of  the  work  until  to- 
day. Yet  the  farmers,  who  have  money,  would  never  dream  of 
exacting  less  than  eighteen  per  cent,  from  one  another  for  its 
use,  and  it  is  the  experience  of  the  writer,  himself  a  farmer, 
that  cotton  lands  pay  better  dividends  either  directly  or  in  en- 
hanced value,  than  phosphate  stocks,  and  these  stocks  are  ever 
on  the  market,  and  heretofore  generally  under  par;  and  why 
have  not  the  farmers,  who  are  capitalists,  bought  them  up? 
The  truth  is  the  men  who  invested  money  in  these  manufacto- 
ries were  men  who  have  other  interests  in  and  around  the  City 
of  Charleston,  and  it  was  more  with  the  hope  of  improving  and 
enhancing  the  values  of  such  other  properties  that  these  invest- 
ments were  made,  than  with  a  view  of  making  extraordinary 
profits  on  the  investments  made. 

The  facilities  for  manufacturing  superphosphates  are  as  good 
or  better  in  this  city  than  they  are  at  any  other  point  on  this 
continent. 

The  immense  supply  of  bone,  the  character  and  area  of  which 
beds  are  hereafter  described,  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of 
bone  phosphate  of  lime.  The  superphosphate  made  from  it 
is  the  principal  base  of  all  complete  fertilizers,  and,  used  alone,  or 
in  combination  with  domestic  supplies  of  ammonia  and  potash, 
will  supply  all  the  wants  of  the  farmer,  so  far  as  a  commercial 
fertilizer  is  needed.  The  Etiwan  Company  has  for  several 
years  shipped  to  the  consumers,  at  $35  per  ton  on  board  the 
cars,  a  twenty-four  per  cent,  soluble  bone  phosphate  of  lime, 
which  would  yield  eleven  per  cent,  soluble  phosphoric  acid,  and 
about  forty-five  per  cent,  sulphate  of  lime,  or  land  plaster.  If 
we  reckon  the  value  of  this  compound  as  based  solely  on  the 
amount  of  soluble  phosphoric  aeid,  it  would  cost  sixteen  cents 
per  pound.  But  if  the  farmer  will  agree  that  sulphate  of  lime, 
or  land  plaster,  is  worth  $10  per  ton,  or  one-half  cent  per  pound, 
it  would  give  as  the  value  of  the  land  plaster  in  a  ton  of  twen- 
ty-four per  cent,  dissolved  bone,  $4.50,  which  would  reduce  the 
price  of  phosphoric  acid  to  fourteen  cents  per  pound;  and  if 
you  reckon  the  value  of  the  small  amount  of  insoluble  bone 
phosphate  of  lime  contained  in  it  as  of  any  value,  even  to  less 
than  that  amount.  The  same  company  has  also  shipped  a 
twenty-nine  per  cent,  soluble  bone  phosphate  at  $38,  which, 
basing  its  value  solely  on  phosphoric  acid,  would  give  it  at 
fourteen  cents  per  pound,  or,  taking  off  one-half  cent  per  pound 
for  the  sulphate  lime  contained,  would  reduce  the  value  of 
phosphoric  acid  to  twelve  and  one-third  cents  per  pound,  or, 
giving  any  value  to  the  insoluble  bone  phosphate  of  lime,  to  even 
less  than  that  price. 


If  articles  of  this  character  are  purchased  for  cash  they  are 
cheap.  If  the  farmer  will  purchase  on  credit  he  must  pay  for 
it  as  he  does  for  other  articles  purchased  in  the  same  way. 
How  many  of  them  gjive  $1.65  to  $2  per  bushel  for  corn  on 
credit — about  fifty  per  cent,  over  the  cash  value,  and  yet,  with 
hat  in  hand,  thank  the  merchant  that  is  so  kind  as  to  credit  them 
with  it. 

The  writer  of  this  article  constantly  hears  the  hue  and  cry, 
that  the  country  is  ruined.  The  farmer^  are  all  bankrupt,  &c 
He  contends  that  such  is  not  the  case  The  terrible  results  of 
our  late  revolution,  the  sudden  emancipation  of  our  slaves,  and 
the  upheaval  and  other  confusion  consequent  upon  the  same, 
produced  flrreat  confusion  and  much  trouble,  and  in  many  cases 
utter  bankruptcy.  Even  in  this-  terrible  state  the  farmer  and 
planter  has  stood  firm,  and  defying  all  difficulties  and  annoy- 
ances, and  made  his  bread,  fed  and  clothed  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, aptly  demonstrating  the  fact  that  the  handfull  of  men 
who  struggled  against  the  combined  world  for  liberty  and  self- 
government  for  the  long  period  of  five  years,  are,  and  will  be, 
no  ordinary  race  of  men. 

It  was  much  to  be  regretted  that  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  the  free  negro  labor  of  the  country  was  so  disagree- 
able to  work  with,  that  our  most  active-minded  and  energetic 
men  rushed  at  once  to  other  lines  of  business,  when  such 
offered,  thinking  it  either  impossible  to  make  a  living  farming 
or  too  unpleasant  a  way  of  living.  Yet  many,  who  were  un- 
willing, and  some  from  choice,  tied  to  the  plow  handles,  have 
succeeded,  and  when  we  remember  that  we  were  en  masse 
insolvent  in  April,  1865,  and  our  country  desolated  by  war,  we 
may  look  around  with  astonishment  and  see  many  of  our  num- 
ber "comfortably  to  do"  in  the  world,  well  off,  and  many  the 
base  and  under-pinning  of  solid  wealth  in  hand. 

The  energetic  planter  of  to-day  is,  in  a  measure,  educated  to 
the  new  order  of  things,  and  he  has  been  through  the  chaos 
and  confusion  resulting  from  our  conquered  situation.  Armed 
with  ten  years'  experience,  he  will  succeed,  and  there  are  those 
now  living  who  will  accumulate  boundless  wealth  dug  from  the 
soil. 

Our  downfall  was  so  sudden,  the  ills  we  were  called  on  to 
bear  so  many,  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  we  have 
almost  become  a  race  of  grumblers  and  croakers.  The  farmers 
may  now  cheer  up  ;  a  brighter  day  is  rapidly  dawning,  and, 
with  a  profound  state  of  peace  for  twenty  years,  the  Southern 
staple  crops  of  cotton,  rice,  sugar,  and  tobacco,  will  generate 
boundless  and  untold  wealth.  In  1865  and  1866,  our  staple 
crops  were  planted  and  worked  with  capital  borrowed,  at  2J 
per  cent,  per  month,  by  parties  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line.  Now  they  are  made  by  either  the  planter's  own  capital, 
or  by  that  advanced  to   him  by  the  Southern  factors  or  mer- 


8 

chants.  The  South  has  accumulated  capital  enough  in  ten  years 
to  plant  and  cultivate  its  own  staple  crops.  As  soon  aa  the  farmer 
can  accumulate  capital  enough  within  himself  to  pay  cash  for 
his  labor,  daily,  weekly,  or  monthly,  he  can  manage  and  ma- 
nipulate the  "hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,"  his  em- 
ployees ;  and  the  men  who  have  prospered,  we  may  say,  belong 
exclusively  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  who  must  and  will  control 
the  real  estate  and  money  of  this  country  in  all  time  to  come. 

If  our  croakers  will  look  North  they  will  find  "all  is  not  gold 
that  glitters,"  and  that  our  conquerors  and  wealthy  neighbors 
have  skeletons  that  dwell  daily  in  their  households.  The  terri- 
ble struggle,  the  endless  strife,  and  strikes  that  are  daily  taking 
place  between  capital  and  its  enchained  slaves — men  of  the 
same  race — the  soup-houses  of  Northern  cities,  the  statistics  of 
crime — all  show  plainly  that  the  mighty  North  has  its  own  in- 
nate ills,  most  of  which,  thank  God,  we  are  free  from. 

Your  first  accumulated  capital  is  invested  in  lands,  buildings, 
and  improvements;  second,  stock  and  tools  to  work  the  same  ; 
third,  an  investment  in  provisions  and  feed  for  one  season; 
fourth,  capital  in  cash  to  pay  for  all  needful  supplies  purchased 
before  you  realize  from  the  sale  of  crops,  and  wherewith  to  pay 
your  wages  to  laborers;*  and  with  this  much  in  hand,  with  in- 
dustry and  energy,  you  must  and  will  succeed;  if  you  follow  the 
farm  for  life,  it  will  feed  you  and  make  you  independent. 

One  source  of  accumulated  wealth  is  in  the  permanent  im- 
provement of  land.  The  improved  annual  production  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  with  hired  labor  to  leave  you  margins  for 
profits.  Both  the  annual  increase  of  crops  and  permanent 
Improvement  of  lands  may  be  made  by  the  judicial  use  of 
commercial  fertilizers.  Yet,  as  a  general  thing,  your  capitals 
are  so  limited  that  you  must  purchase  so  that  every  dollar  in- 
vested will  produce  the  greatest  possible  return  in  the  shortest 
possible  time.  To  do  this  you  must  always  buy  the  most  highly 
soluble  manures,  and  those  are  cheapest  to  you  in  the  most 

*  The  capital  now  required  to  operate  a  plantation  is,  first,  that  invested 
in  land ;  second,  the  amount  of  money  in  shape  of  cash  in  hand  equal  to  the 
interest  on  the  value  of  the  slave  property  that  formerly  operated  the  same 
plantation,  and  that  interest  may  be  put  down  at  three  to  five  per  cent. 

Suppose,  before  the  war,  a  plantation  of  five  hundred  acres  had  on  it 
thirty  slaves,  six  mules,  etc.  Averaginsj  the  slaves  at  $600  we  will  have 
$18,000;  seven  per  cent,  interest  on  this  $1,260,  at  five  per  cent., $900,  which 
is  ample  to  run  a  five  hundred  acre  cotton  place,  operated  with  six  mules. 
Hence  the  farmer  of  to-day  requires  only  the  interest  at  five  per  cent,  as 
cash  in  hand  to  operate  a  plantation  on  which  he  once  used  the  entire  prin- 
cipal. The  man  of  the  olden  time  replies,  but  the  increase  of  the  negro 
property.  We  of  the  new  school  reply,  but  the  loss  by  death ;  rate  the 
clothing  and  doctor's  bills,  the  feeding  of  young  negroes,  dead-heads, 
superannuated,  etc.  Now  you  feed  one  ration  for  one  day's  work.  The 
young  negro  raising  and  the  old  dead-head  falls  on  the  laborer,  and  he  will 
find  it  will  consume  his  as  it  once  did  all  of  your  profits. 


9 

concentrated  form,  as  a  ton  of  dirt  costs  as  much  freight  as  the 
richest  ton  of  fertilizer. 

Your  means  of  judging  these  are  by  actual  test,  and  by  analy- 
ses of  parties  in  whom  you  can  place  confidence,  and  the  nearer 
these  parties  are  to  your  own  home  the  better  the  security. 

To  enable  you  to  understand  the  uses  and  values  of  commer- 
cial fertilizers,  some  knowledge  of  chemistry  is  absolutely 
necessary.  The  education  of  not  one  in  one  hundred  farmers 
is  such  as  to  enable  him  to  read  and  understand  a  standard 
scientific  work  couched  in  technical  language.  The  object  of 
this  pamphlet  is  to  supply  the  farmer  with  an  abridged  trea- 
tise on  Agricultural  Chemistry,  written  in  English,  without  the 
use  of  technical  terms  as  far  as  the  use  of  the  same  can  be 
avoided,  and  it  is  hoped  it  may  serve  a  good  end. 

Much  money  is  spent  in  printer's  ink  to  publish  clap-trap  ad- 
vertisements to  aid  in  the  sale  of  fertilizers.  This  Company 
prefers  to  print  for  the  benefit  of  its  customers  a  pamphlet  con- 
taining solid  information,  which,  having  been  copyrighted,  can 
be  reprinted  from  year  to  year  and  revised  if  the  farmers  appre- 
ciate the  same,  and  we  trust  it  may  be  in  some  part,  as  it  were, 
"A  Poor  Richard's  Almanac,"  and  known  as  such. 

Some  articles  following  will  enable  you  to  comprehend  the 
nature  of  the  manufacture  of  commercial  fertilizers  and  the 
uses  of  the  same. 

A  knowledge  of  the  various  soils  and  properties  of  the  same; 
the  chemistry  of  plants  ;  the  application  of  commercial  fertili- 
zers ;  the  value  of  domestic  manures  ;  the  compost  pile  and 
sources  from  which  it  may  be  made  up  to  profit  and  advantage; 
together  with  certain  tabulated  analyses  of  soils,  plants,  and 
fertilizers. 

Charleston,  S,  C,  October,  1875. 


10 


CHAPTER   II. 


GROWTH  OF  PIjANTS  AND  MOLES  OP  IMPROVING. 

In  discussing  the  subject  of  Agricultural  Chemistry  we  will 
consider  the  three  systems  under  which  the  growth  of  plants 
may  be  classified. 

1st.  The  natural,  or  normal  system. 

2d.  The  system  whereby  the  natural  or  normal  yield  is  main- 
tained. 

3d.  The  system  called  "high-farming,"  whereby  it  is  sought 
to  double  or  even  treble  the  natural  yield. 

In  all  these  systems  certain  conditions,  such  as  soil,  moisture, 
air,  heat,  light,  electricity,  must  be  constant ;  any  great  excess 
or  deficiency  in  these  physical  conditions  rendering  plant  life 
impossible. 

Soils  are  the  result  of  the  disintegration  of  rocks,  and  are, 
therefore,  as  variable  in  chemical  composition  as  are  the  rocks 
from  which  they  are  derived.  The  way  in  which  the  disinte- 
gration is  accomplished  is  this : 

No  rock,  however  compact,  is  impervious  to  water.  Water, 
as  rain,  therefore,  holding  in  solution  carbonic  acid  and  oxygen, 
coming  in  contact  with  a  rock  penetrates  it,  and  yielding  up 
these  gases  to  the  elements  for  which  they  have  an  affinit}^ 
renders  them  soluble  in  the  water  ;  thus  the  rock  breaks  up  from 
having  some  of  its  particles  continually  removed,  so  that  if  we 
should  suppose  a  block  of  granite  to  be  exposed  to  these  condi- 
tions for  an  indefinite  time,  we  would  have  it  at  first  solid, 
then  gradually  disintegrated,  next  the  mica  and  feldspar,  pul- 
verulent and  fine,  while  the  quartz  remains  massive,  and  lastly, 
all  in  solution  but  the  clay  and  sand. 

There  is  a  property  of  soils  which  is  of  great  importance  in 
agriculture,  and  without  which  plant  life  would  be  difficult. 
This  is  the  "absorptive  power;"  by  this  the  soil  absorbs  and 
stores  in  itself  nutritious  substances  both  from  aqueous  solu- 
tions and  from  the  atmosphere;  and  more,  it  even  effects  de- 
composition, so  as  to  retain  the  useful  and  eliminate  the  useless 
material. 

Thus  if  we  apply  to  a  soil  a  soluble  chloride  or  sulphate,  as 
potassic  chloride  or  sulphate,  a  decomposition  will  take  place ; 
for  if  we  pour  on  water  we  will  find  that  the  hydrochloric  or 
sulphuric  acid  will  leach  out  combined  with  lime,  while  the 
potash  will  be  retained. 

In  geaeral  the  soil  absorbs  the  base  and  sets  the  acid  free. 
Phosphoric  acid  is,  however,  a  striking  exception,  for  this  acid 


11 

is  absorbed  by  soils  in  preference  to  most  bases,  and  if  in  the 
compound  both  acid  and  base  were  necessary  to  vegetation,  as 
in  phosphate  of  potash,  we  would  find  that  the  soil  absorbed 
them  both  in  proportion  to  their  degree  of  necessity. 

On  the  atmosphere,  the  absorptive  power  of  the  soil  is  also 
freely  exerted,  taking  therefrom  air,'  carbonic  acid,  ammonia, 
water. 

These  physical  conditions  of  plant-life  being  present,  let  us 
consider  now  the  normal  or  natural  system  of  plant  growth. 

If  we  take  a  plant  and  burn  it  we  find  that  the  greater 
portion  is  dissipated  in  the  atmosphere,  and  there  remains  an 
ush,  which  we  find,  by  analysis,  to  contain  some  of  the  elements 
which  compose  the  surface  of  our  earth.  If  we  continue  our 
experiment,  we  will  find  that  thouarh  the  relative  amounts  of 
these  various  ash-constituents  vary  in  different  plants,  and  even 
in  different  organs  of  the  same  plant,  yet  the  greater  portion  of 
them  are  invariably  present.  If  we  now  plant  seed  in  a  soil  so 
prepared  that  these  ash  constituents  are  absent,  the  plant  will 
not  grow  ;  they  are,  therefore,  necessary  for  the  growth  of  the 
plant  and  must  exist  in  the  soil  in  such  a  condition  as  to  be 
capable  of  assimilation. 

This  is  accomplished,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  atmospheric 
(meteorological)  phenomena  which  gradually  decompose  the 
silicates  and  other  insoluble  salts  existing  in  the  soil,  and  sets 
free  these  ash-constituents  in  a  state  capable  of  being  dissolved 
by  water  and  absorbed  by  the  plant. 

These  ash  constituents,  therefore,  form  one  important  part  of 
the  food  necessary  for  plants  and  must  be  supplied  by  the  soil ; 
they  have,  therefore,  been  called  "  ash-food." 

The  other  portion  of  the  plant  which  was  dissipated  by  burn- 
ing, we  find  by  analysis  to  be  composed  of  carbon,  hydrogen, 
oxygen,  and  nitrogen.  These  are  equally  important  and  essen- 
tial, and,  as  the  atmosphere  is  their  source,  we  call  them  "air- 
food." 

The  carbonic  acid  of  the  atmosphere  is  under  the  influence  of 
light  decomposed  by  the  leaves  of  plants,  the  carbon  being 
assimilated,  while  the  oxygen  is  returned  for  the  use  of  animals. 
Plants  are  in  fact  the  world's  scavengers,  and  render  the  earth 
inhabitable  by  animals.  Animals  breathe  in  oxygen  from  the 
atmosphere  and  exhale  carbonic  acid.  This  gas  is  poisonous  and 
if  suffered  to  accumulate  in  the  atmosphere,  would  soon  cause 
the  death  of  all  warm  blooded  animals ;  but  the  plants  seize  it, 
and,  taking  what  is  necessary  for  themselves,  return  the  pure 
oxygen  for  the  use  of  the  animals. 

If  we  turn  to  Geology  we  see  this  beautifully  exemplified. 
At  one  period  the  atmospiiere,  from  igneous  and  other  causes,  was 
reeking  with  moisture,  and  so  filled  with  carbonic  acid  that 
animal  life,  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  lower  orders  of 
cold  blooded  reptiles,  was  impossible.   During  this  period,  called 


12 

the  carboniferous  period,  plant  life  flourished  most  luxuriantly, 
and  the  gigantic  conifers  and  other  growths  of  that  day  cleansed 
the  atmosphere  and  rendered  higher  life  possible  by  decompos- 
ing the  deleterious  carbonic  acid,  returning  the  life-bearing 
oxygen,  and  storing  the  carbon  for  man's  future  use  in  the  vast 
coal  measures  of  the  world. 

Nitrogen  also,  in  this  normal  condition  of  vegetation,  is  sup- 
plied by  the  atmosphere,  and  is  always  taken  up  in  the  form  of 
ammonia,  which  exists  in  the  air,  and  is  generally  collected  by 
rain  and  dew,  which  also  furnish  the  remaining  elements  of 
plant  food,  viz  :  oxygen  and  hydrogen. 

Now  all  these  substances  which  constitute  the  plant  food, 
both  those  supplied  by  the  soil,  and  those  supplied  by  the 
atmosphere,  must  not  only  be  present,  but  present  in  the 
relative  quantity  required  by  the  plant  for  it  to  grow;  no  one 
of  them  can  can  be  absent  or  even  present  in  too  small  quan- 
tity without  the  plant  failing  to  grow  and  mature ;  hence, 
normal  vegetation  depends  upon  the  available  amount  of  that 
constituent^of  the  plant  food  which  is  present  in  least  quantity. 

In  addition  to  these  elements  of  plant  food,  there  must  be  a 
matrix  in  which  the  food  is,  and  which  may  at  times  supply 
some  of  the  elements  of  the  food,  sustaining  it  also  in  its  proper 
position,  and  protecting  it  from  vicissitudes  of  climate.  This  is 
the  vegetable  mould  or  humus  mixed  with  clay  and  sand. 

Let  us  now  review  the  normal  or  natural  system  of  vegeta 
tion  in  its  totality.  A  tree  springs  up,  assimulates  all  its  ash- 
food  from  the  soil,  and  all  its  air-food  from  the  atmosphere  ;  it 
arrives  at  maturity  and  dies;  as  soon  as  dead,  decay,  which  is 
the  same  thing  as  slow  combustion,  sets  in,  and  our  analysis 
proceeds;  all  the  materials  which  were  derived  from  the  at- 
mosphere being  returned  to  it,  except  humus,  while  the  soil 
receives  the  ash-food  back  again. 

In  this  system  the  exhaustion  of  ash-food  from  the  soil  is  not 
possible:  on  the  contrary,  by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  on 
the  soil  more  ash-food  is  rendered  available,  so  that  the  amount 
is  constantly  increasing. 

The  second  system,  whereby  the  natural  yield  is  maintained, 
presents  some  very  different  characteristics. 

This  system  only  obtains  where  the  produce  of  the  soil  is 
used  for  the  wants  of  man  and  animals.  Here  there  is  some- 
thing carried  away,  so  that  the  materials  of  the  soil  are  con- 
stantly decreasing;  thus,  in  a  wheat  crop,  making  fifteen  bush- 
els per  acre,  there  is  carried  off  annually  from  the  soil  by  the 
grain  eight  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid  and  seven  lbs.  of  potash  ; 
and  should  the  straw  be  also  exported,  there  will  be  an  addi- 
tional drain  of  six  pounds  phosphoric  acid  and  ten  lbs.  potash. 
Total,  14  and  18  pounds. 

This  excessive  loss  of  mineral  material,  if  recurring  yearly, 
can  by  no  means  be  restored  by  the  slow  method  of  atmospheric 


13 

action,  so  that  under  such  a  system  it  is  certain  the  crop  will 
continually  diminish  in  quantity  and  quality,  until  at  last  the 
land  will  cease  to  produce. 

As  this  result  becomes  manifest  by  experience,  remedies  are 
sought,  and  the  system  of  "  bare  "  fallowing  was  adopted ;  for 
by  allowing  the  land  to  remain  idle  for  one  or  two  years  after 
one  or  two  crops  have  been  gathered,  the  materials  abstracted 
by  the  plant  are  in  some  measure  returned  by  atmospheric 
action. 

As  this  system  required  a  large  amount  of  land  prepared  for 
culture,  it  was  not  found  very  profitable,  and  has  been  very 
generally  abandoned  ;  in  its  place  "  rotation  "  has  succeeded. 

The  principle  of  rotation  rests  upon  the  fact  that  different 
plants  take  from  the  soil  different  quantities  of  its  mineral 
constituents,  so  that  though  a  soil  deficient  in  some  constituent 
will  not  grow  a  plant  which  requires  much  of  that  material, 
still  it  will  grow  and  mature  other  plants,  which  either  do  not 
use  that  constituent,  or  use  it  in  less  quantity. 

In  "  rotation"  we  grow  plants  whose  demand  for  some  of  the 
materials  of  the  soil  is  less  than  were  the  preceding,  so  that  by 
the  time  the  rotation  is  completed,  the  materials  required  for 
the  first  crop  have  been  restored  by  atmospheric  action. 

In  the  third  system,  or  the  system  of  "  high-farming,"  it  is 
sought  to  raise  the  greatest  amount  of  fruit  per  acre,  and  conse- 
quently to  carry  off  from  the  soil  the  greatest  amount  of  avail- 
able substances  which  form  the  seed. 

The  increase  of  the  weed  of  the  plant  is  of  no  importance, 
hence  it  will  be  seen  that  a  morbid  growth  is  demanded,  that  is, 
a  greater  amount  of  seed  should  be  yielded  than  is  normally 
proportioned  to  the  weed. 

In  this  system,  therefore,  the  plant  must  be  furnished  not 
only  with  a  greater  amount  of  ash  and  air- food  than  is  normal- 
ly present,  but  they  must  also  be  so  proportioned  as  to  produce 
this  morbid  growth  of  fruit.  This  is  done  by  manuring;  we 
must  stimulate  the  plant  to  assimilate  those  materials  which 
compose  the  fruit,  and  those  materials  must  be  supplied  in  an 
easily  available  state,  and  in  an  abundant  quantity  ;  if,  there- 
fore, we  apply  to  the  soil  a  compound  of  air  and  of  ash-food  in 
just  proportions,  and  in  an  easily  available  (that  is,  highly  solu- 
ble) state,  all  the  conditions  of  "  high-farming"  are  fulfilled. 

It  is  evident  that  we  cannot  increase  the  atmosphere,  but  we 
can  add  it  to  the  soil,  either  by  growing  certain  crops,  as  peas 
and  clover,  which  absorb  large  quantities  of  air  food  from  the 
atmosphere,  and  then  plough  them  in;  or, more  quickly,  we  can 
at  once  apply  to  the  soil  nitrogenous  compounds,  as  the  nitrates, 
ammoniacal  salts,  etc.  The  system,  then,  of  "  high-farming  " 
demands  an  application  yearly  to  the  soil  of  a  mixture  or  ma- 
nure composed  of  the  ash-food  of  the  plant,  and  especially  of 
the  seed  in   a  soluble   state,  together  with   some    nitrogenous 


14 

compound.  The  highly  concentrated  fertilizers  of  commerce 
only  in  part  meet  this  requisition,  as  they  only  contain  the  most 
necessary  ingredients  of  plant  food,  and  many  of  the  physical 
uses  of  farm  manure  would  be  lost  if  they  were  used  alone,  such 
as  heat,  humus,  porosity. 


CHAPTER  HI. 


THE  SOIL. 

ORIGIN     OF     SOILS. 

The  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the  land  is  covered  by  a 
mixture  of  stones  of  various  sizes,  clay,  sand,  and  other  mineral 
substances,  together  with  a  variable  quantity  of  decaying  vege- 
table matter — this  is  the  soil.  In  some  places  it  exists  onlj-  in 
patches  and  thin  layers  on  the  surface  of  rocks,  and  affords  only 
a  scant  growth  of  mosses,  lichens,  etc.,  while  elsew  here  it  will  be 
found  as  a  deep  mass  of  vegetable  mould,  so  fertile  that  the 
crudest  cultivation  will  produce  heavy  crops  of  all  the  crops 
necessary  for  man  and  animals.  Between  these  extremes  are 
found  all  the  varieties  with  which  we  are  familiar. 

Soils  are  classified  agriculturally,  according  to  their  composi- 
tion and  texture,  into  sandy,  containing  only  ten  per  cent,  clay, 
sandy  loam,  containing  30-40  p.  c.  clayZo^w  containing  40-70  p.  c. 
of  clay.  When  it  contains  70-85  p.  c.  of  clay,  it  is  called  a  day 
loam;  from  85-90  of  clay  a  strony  clay,^%  for  bricks,  and  if  it 
contains  no  sand,  it  is  called  pipe  clay.  If  a  soil  contains  more 
than  five  per  cent,  of  lime  it  is  called  amarley  soil ;  if  more  than 
twenty  per  cent,  a  calcareous  soil j  and  if  the  soil  consists  almost 
entirely  of  vegetable  matter,  it  is  called  a  peaty  soil  or  bog  earth. 

Geologically,  soils  are  divided  into  two  kinds,  soils  of  disinte- 
gration and  soils  of  transport.  The.former  are  found  lying  on  the 
rocks  from  which  they  were  formed  by  the  mechanical  and 
chemical  action  of  the  atmosphere,  and  having  the  same  com- 
positions as  the  rocks  ;  while  the  latter  have  been  transported 
by  the  agency  of  winds,  waters,  or  glacial  action,  to  a  distance 
from  their  source,  and  are  found  on  rocks  having  a  far  different 
composition  from  the  overlying  soils. 

All  soils  originate  in  the  disintegration  of  rocks  which  form 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  chiefly  by  the  action  of  the  atmos- 
phere. This  action,  as  we  have  said,  is  of  two  kinds,  mechanical 
and  chemical.  The  mechanical  action  consists  in  the  power  ex- 
erted b}^  volcanoes,  floods,  ice,  and  snow;  also  the  abrading 
action  of  winds,  which  by  forcing  small  particles  of  sand 
against  the  surface  of  rocks,  wears  them  away  as  with  a  file. 
The  chemical  action  is  exerted  by  the  elements  of  the  atmos- 


15 

phere,  combining  with  certain  ingredients  of  the  rocks.  Thus 
those  rockR  which  contain  lime  and  alkalies,  are  acted  upon  by 
the  carbonic  acid  of  the  atmosphere.  Those  containing  iron  by 
the  oxygen.  These  actions  of  the  atmosphere  are  also  assisted 
by  the  root-growth  of  plants,  by  the  burrowing  of  worms  and 
other  underground  creatures,  and  also  in  no  small  degree  by 
the  acids  (humic,  geic,  crenic,)  generated  by  the  decay  of  or- 
ganic substances. 

The  rocks  essential  to  the  formation  of  fertile  soils,  and  from 
which  they  are  usually  formed,  are  Granite,  Feldspar,  Lime- 
stone, Gypsum,  Phosphorite,  Slate  and  Sandstone. 

Granite  derives  its  name  from  its  granular  structure,  and 
is  composed  of  a  mixture  of  grains  of  Mica,  Feldspar,  and 
Quartz. 

Quartz  forms  the  transparent  grains,  and  is  composed  simply 
of  silica. 

Feldspar,  the  dull  creamy  opaque  grains,  is  composed  of  silica, 
alumina,  potash,  soda,  and  lime. 

Mica,  so  called,  from  its  forming  the  glittering  scales,  is  a  com- 
pound of  silica,  alumina,  and  potash;  in  some  varieties  the 
alumina  is  replaced  by  iron,  and  the  potash  by  magnesia. 

Limestone  is  a  compound  of  lime  and  carbonic  acid,  and  is 
formed  of  the  remains  of  shell  fish  and  coral  insects.  The 
lime  of  the  soil  is  derived  from  limestone,  gypsum  and  phos- 
phate of  lime.  Gypsum  is  a  compound  of  lime  and  sulphuric 
acid,  and  is  found  in  some  places  in  vast  beds,  while  the  phos- 
phate of  lime  (phosphorite)  is  more  rare.  In  Canada  and 
IMorthern  New  York  it  occurs  in  the  ancient  unstratified  rocks 
as  the  apatites  ;  in  South  Carolina  also  it  \n  found  in  the  recently 
discovered  phosphate  beds,  which  are,  perhaps,  the  largest  and 
most  available  sources  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  world. 

The  country  is  indebted  to  Dr.  N.  A.  Pratt,  of  Chaleston,  for 
discovering  the  value,  and  aiding  in  the  development  of  this 
great  source  of  national  wealth.  lie  says,  in  his  report  on  this 
subject:  "This  bed  has  long  been  known  in  the  history  of  the 
geology  of  South  Carolina,  as  the  "Fish  bed  of  the  Charleston 
Basin,"  on  account  of  the  abundant  remains  of  marine  animals 
found  in  it — Professor  Holmes,  of  Charleston,  having  not  less 
than  60,000  sharks'  teeth  alone,  some  of  them  of  enormous 
size,  weighing  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  pounds  each.  The 
bed  outcrops  on  the  banks  of  the  Ashley,  Cooper,  Stono,  Edisto, 
Ashepoo,  and  Oorabahee  rivers;  but  is  developed  most  richly 
and  heavily  on  the  former,  and  has  been  found  inland  forty  or 
fifty  miles.  Near  the  Ashley  river,  it  paves  the  public  high- 
ways for  miles  ;  it  seriouslj^  impedes  and  obstructs  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  land,  affording  scarcely  soil  enough  to  hill  up  the 
cotton  rows ;  and  the  phosphates  have  for  years  past  been 
thrown  into  piles  on  the  lawns  and  into  the  causeways  over 
ravines,  to  get  them  out  of  the  reach  of  the  plows.     It  under- 


16 

lies  many  square  miles  of  sarface  continuoasly.  at  a  depth 
ranging  from  six  inches  to  twelve  or  more  feet,  and  in  such 
quantities,  that  from  live  hundred  to  a  thousand  tons  underlie 
each  acre.  In  fact,  it  seems  there  are  no  rocks  in  this  section 
which  are  not  phosphates. 

"  The  area  of  this  bed,  containing  phosphates  of  good  quality 
and  in  workable  quantity,  so  far  as  known  and  examined  by 
the  writer  in  person,  is  not  less  than  forty  to  fifty  square  miles, 
though  from  samples  I  have  examined  from  beyond  these 
limits,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  rock  will  be  found  of  good 
or  indifferent  quality,  and  in  greater  or  less  quantity,  over  an 
area  of  several  hundred  square  miles.  When  of  inferior  quality, 
they  contain  more  sand,  carbonate  of  lime,  oxide  of  iron,  and 
phosphate  of  iron  and  alumina,  and  proportionately  less  pure 
phosphate  of  lime." 

As  the  amount  of  this  material  is  so  large,  it  will  doubtless 
be  the  chief  source  of  supply  for  many  years  to  come,  and  there 
will  probably  be  little  variation  in  its  pnce;  and  as  there  are  no 
drawbacks  or  checks  to  the  mining  and  economical  transporta- 
tion of  it  to  all  parts  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  we  will  estimate 
the  value  of  insoluble  phosphoric  acid  from  it.  We  give  th^ 
following  tables  from  Dr.  Pratt's  interesting  pamphlet  on  the 
"  History  of  the  Discovery  and  Development  of  the  Native 
Bone  Phosphates  of  the  Charleston  Basin,"  giving  analyses  of 
different  samples  of  this  guano,  and  of  some  other  leading  com- 
mercial fijuanos,  for  comparison. 


<» 

§ 

V 

-S 

s.  of  Ir 
and 
umina. 

and 
agnesia 

.J 

1 

1 

a  ^ 

1 

South  Carolina,                   No.     1 

34.40 

29  32 

((                                    ( 

'       2 

55  62 

1.50 

10.33 

6.50 

10  31 

((                                    ( 

•      3 

63.30 

1.32 

8.20 

9.01 

.(                                    t 

'      4 

68.03 

5.02 

8.03 

7.50 

9.91 

t(                                    ( 

'      5 

66.36 

3.01 

11.70 

(<                                     i 

'       6 

61.93 

1.04 

11.21 

(<                                    i 

*       7 

64.07 

.84 

1100 

«                                    ( 

'       8 

69.00 

((                                    < 

'       9 

59.07 

.65 

6.68 

((                                    ( 

'     10 

49.35 

1.84 

25.70 

«                                    ' 

*     11 

49.87 

.86 

4.73 

(<                                    < 

'     12 

50.07 

.69 

10.14 

Navassa  Guano, 

49.12 

12.00 

Swan  Island  Guano,  mean 
two  analyses, 

"} 

53.08 

12.33 

20.60 

15.40 

Bolivian, 

53.20 

9.23 

18.24 

4.08 

Patagonian, 

44.00 

rPhos.  Iron 

\  andAlum'a 
1          1  •      1 

18.30 

36.60 

Chilian, 

31.00 

18.60 

43.17 

(^combined. 

17 

Sand  stones  are  composed  of  alumina,  silica,  iron,  carbonate  of 
lime,  and  other  substances  in  various  proportions.  In  some 
the  particles  are  cemented  together  by  a  kind  of  semi-fusion, 
as  in  the  buhr-stone  formation,  while  in  others,  as  the  free  stones 
and  red  sand  stones,  it  is  effected  by  the  infiltration  of  some 
soluble  substance.  They  are  easily  disintegrated  and  rapidly 
form  soils. 

An  important  constituent  of  all  soils  is  the  vegetable  mould, 
or  humus,  which  must  be  at  least  five  per  cent,  of  the  soil,  if  it 
be  a  fertile  one.  This  humus  is  the  brown,  earthy  part  of  the 
soil,  and  is  the  result  of  the  partial  decay  of  leaves,  roots  and 
all  other  parts  of  plants.  The  special  oflSce  of  this  constituent 
is  mechanical,  and  it  acts  by  absorbing  heat,  moisture,  and. 
fertilizing  gases  from  the  atmos'phere,  and  storing  them  for 
the  growing  plant;  it  also  affords  support  to  its  structure.  That 
the  fertility  of  a  soil  does  not  depend  directly  upon  the  per- 
centage of  humus  has  been  proven,  but  up  to  a  certain  point  it 
must  be  present  to  make  a  fertile  soil. 

In  order  that  the  planter  may  form  an  idea  of  different  soils, 
we  here  give  several  analyses  of  various  ones : 


(1-) 


1=. 

1« 

«s.S 

^Irs 

s;s> 

^ti^ 

^=§« 

-jS 

I- 


Organic  Matter,  Humus, &c. 

Oxide  of  Iron 

Alumina 


Lime 

Magnesia 

Potash  , 

Soda  

Phosphoric  Acid 

Sulphuric  Acid 

Chlorine 

Insoluble    Silicates, 
and  Sand) , 


(Clay 


Carbonic  Acid  and  Loss. 


10.08 
6.30 
9.30 

1.01 
.20 

.01 

.13 
.17 


72.80 


.49 
3.19 
2.65 

.24 
.70 
.12 
.02 
.07 
trace 
trace 

92.52 
sand 


3.38 
8.82 
6.67 

1.44 
.92 
1.48 
1.08 
1.51 
trace 


72.88 
L87 


100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00 


11.24 

4.87 

14.04 

.83 

1.02 

2.80 

1.43 

.24 

.09 

.25 

63.19 


6.33 

9.31 

cost  of  lime 
54.56 
trace 

1.03 

trace 
trace 


28.77 


10.50 
11.92 

19.92 
.25 

.71 

.38 
.04 
.76 

55.52 


100.00  loo.oa 


18 


(2.)  Analysis  of  a 
Holland  (Mnlder): 


very  fertile  soil,  near  the   Zuyder   Zee, 

Tons  per  acre 
10  in.  deep. 
Insoluble  silica  (sand)  and  alumina. 

Soluble  silica 57.646  576.0 

Soluble  alumina 2.340  23.0 

Peroxide  of  iron  (iron  rust) 9.039  90.0 

Protoxide  of  iron 0.350  3.5 

Lime 4.093  40.0 

Magnesia  0.130  1.3 

Potash  1.026  10.0 

Soda 1.972  19.0 

Chlorine  1.240  12.4 

Ammonia 0.060  1200  lbs. 

Phosphoric  acid  0466  4.5 

Sulphuric  acid 0.896  9.0 

Carbonic   acid , 6.085  61.0 

Humusand  water  chemically  combined...  12.000  120.0 

Loss 0.828 


100.000 


(3.)  Analysis  of  a  remarkably  sterile  soil : 


Sand 95  843 

Alumina  0.600 

Oxide  of  iron 1.800 

Lime  combined  with  silica 0.038 

Magnesia 0.006 

Potash  and  soda.., 0.005 

Phosphate  of  iron 0.198 

Sulphuric  acid.. 0.002 

Chlorine 0.006 

Humus,  carbonic  acid  and  water 1.502 


Tons  per  acre 

10  in. deep. 

958.00 

6.00 

18.00 

0.38 

0.06 

0.05 

1.98 

0.02 

0.06 

15.02 


100.000 


The  poverty  of  this  soil  is  apparent  from  the  small  amounts 
of  lime,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  present.  The  addition  of 
marl  was  found  to  produce  a  decided  effect. 

A  rough  way  by  which  the  planter  may  determine  whether 
his  soil  has  sufficient  lime  is  to  take  a  small  quantity,  put  it 
in  a  wine  glass,  and  pour  some  muriatic  acid  over  it.  If  the 
earth  bubbles  up,  or  if,  on  putting  the  glass  to  the  ear,  a 
fizzing  is  heard,  there  is  enough  lime ;  if  no  disturbance  occurs, 
lime  is  probably  needed. 


19 


DESCEIPTION  OF  THE  ORGANIC  SUBSTANCES   OF 
THE  SOIL. 

The  names  of  these  in  the  order  in  which  they  occur  in  rela- 
tive abundance  in  an  average  fertile  soil,  are 

Silica  (sand),  Alumina,  Oxide  of  Iron,  Lime,  Magnesia,  Pot- 
ash, Soda,  Sulphur,  Phosphorus,  Chlorine,  Fluorine. 

Silica  is  a  compound  of  53.34  per  cent,  of  oxygen,  and  46.66 
per  cent,  of  a  metal  called  silicon.  This  metal  never  occurs  in 
nature,  but  was  discovered  by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  in  1813, 
and  is  obtained  as  a  brown  powder  or  as  scaly  crystals,  like 
graphite.  Silica  has  acid  properties,  that  is  it  combines  with 
alkalies,  and  exists  in  three  forms,  crystalline,  amorphous,  and 
jelliform  ;  when  crystalized  it  forms  hexagonal  (six-sided)  trans- 
parent, colorless  prisms,  which  are  called  rock  crystal ;  when 
amorphous,  it  is  .white,  gritty  and  tasteless,  as  in  flint  and  sand. 
Neither  of  these  forms  when  pure  are  acted  on  by  any  of  the 
acids  except  the  hydrofluoric,  nor  even  by  the  strongest  fires. 

The  jelliform  variety  is  called  soluble  silica,  and  is  a  combina- 
tion of  silica  and  water,  which  is  slightly  soluble  in  water  and 
freely  so  in  acids,  even  carbonic.  This  is  the  immediate  source 
of  the  silica  in  plants,  and  it  is  formed  from  the  akaline  silicates 
of  the  soil ;  thus,  if  we  have  a  powder  composed  of  silica,  lime, 
potash,  etc.,  such  as  powdered  feldspar,  and  expose  it  to  the  ac- 
tion of  water  containing  carbonic  acid,  as  rain  water,  the  latter 
will  unite  with  the  lime,  potash,  etc.,  and  leave  the  silica  in  the 
soluble  form,  when  it  is  readily  appropriated  by  the  plants. 

From  the  want  of  enough  of  this  in  the  soil,  those  plants 
that  need  it  largely  in  their  straw,  as  wheat,  oats,  rye,  etc.,  are 
unable  to  stand  up,  and  fall  down  and  rot. 

As  the  amount  of  soluble  silica  in  soils  is  small,  all  the  straw 
of  the  crops,  and  all  the  weeds  that  grow  in  swampy  places,  or 
running  water,  should  be  returned  to  the  soil  best  through  the 
compost  pile. 

Alumina. — This  substance,  which  is  a  compound  of  the  metal 
aluminum  and  oxygen,  exists  in  nature  in  two  forms,  crystal- 
line and  .amorphous  ;  when  crystallized,  it  forms  the  precious 
stones,  as  the  ruby  and  the  sapphire  ;  when  amorphous,  it  is 
very  like  silica,  white,  gritty,  hard.  In  the  soil,  however,  it 
usually  occurs  as  clay,  which  is  a  compound  of  silica  and 
alumina.  This  substance  does  not  form  plant  food,  for  it  is 
seldom  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  plants,  but  its  office  is  chiefly 
to  absorb  and  retain  moisture  and  all  the  soluble  salts  of  ferti- 
lizing substances.  When  clay  is  present  in  large  quantity  the 
land  must  be  drained,  or  it  will  be  wet,  cold,  and  heavy ;  if  de- 


20 

ficient,  the  land  will  be  "  hungry,"  and  the  fertilizing  salts  will 
be  washed  away  from  the  roots  of  the  plants.  Instance  the 
porus  soils  of  the  coast.  A  very  important  property  also  of 
clay  is  its  power  of  absorbing  ammonia  from  the  atmosphere 
and  conveying  it  to  the  roots  of  plants.  The  color  of  clay  is 
caused  by  the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron. 

Oxide  of  Iron. — This  substance  occurs  in  two  forms,  as  pro- 
toxide, consisting  of  a  combination  of  one  equivalent  of  iron 
and  one  of  oxygen,  and  peroxide  or  sesquioxide,  which  consists 
of  two  equivalents  of  iron  to  three  of  oxygen.  The  former  is 
of  a  dark  color,  constituting  largely  the  scales  on  the  anvil  of 
the  smith,  and  exists  in  the  blue  clay  lands.  The  latter  is 
familiar  as  iron  rust,  and  causes  the  red  color  of  most  clays. 
Lands  which  contain  the  protoxide  should  be  frequently  culti- 
vated, so  as  to  expose  this  oxide  to  the  atmosphere  so  that  it 
can  absorb  oxygen  and  be  converted  into  the  harmless  red 
oxide.  During  this  oxidation,  hydrogen  is  set  free,  which  then 
combines  with  nitrogen  to  form  ammonia,  and  as  the  red  oxide 
has  slightly  acid  properties,  it  fixes  the  ammonia  for  plant  food. 
Soils  which  contain  iron  pyrites  will  have  formed  in  them  this 
protoxide,  in  the  form  of  sulphate  or  copperas.  The  presence 
of  this  salt,  in  more  than  very  small  quantity,  is  poisonous  to 
plant  life;  if,  however,  it  be  well  cultivated,  or  still  better,  if  it 
be  limed,  the  injurious  protoxide  will,  after  a  time,  be  converted 
into  the  harmless  red  oxide.  The  use  of  iron  in  plants  seems 
to  be  in  the  formation  of  the  green  coloring  matter  in  them. 

Lime. — This,  one  of  the  most  important  constituents  of  soils 
and  also  one  that  is  very  widely  disseminated,  is  derived  from 
the  limestones,  which  are  found  in  nearly  every  geological 
period,  and  also  from  gypsum,  or  land  plaster,  which  in  some 
places  occurs  in  large  beds.  Limestone  is  a  combination  of  lime 
and  carbonic  acid  gas.  When  this  is  burnt  in  kilns,  the  carbonic 
acid  gas  goes  off,  and  a  hard,  white,  caustic  substance  remains. 
This  is  stone  lime,  or  quick  lime.  If  now  water  is  poured  on, 
(one  part  of  water  to  three  of  lime,)  it  grows  very  hot,  swells 
up  and  finally  falls  into  an  impalpable  powder,  called  slacked 
lime.  If  it  continue  to  be  exposed  to  the  air,  it  again  absorbs 
carbonic  acid  and  becomes  reconverted  into  limestone;  but  it  is 
in  very  fine  powder,  and  not  hard  and  massive  as  was  the 
original  rock.  In  this  fine  state  it  is  readily  absorbed  and 
assimilated  by  plants. 

Gypsum  is  a  combination  of  lime,  sulphuric  acid,  and  water. 
When  this  is  burnt,  the  water  is  driven  off^,  and  it  is  called 
plaster  of  Paris.  In  this  state  it  reabsorbs  water  with  great 
avidity,  and  sets  or  becomes  hard,  thus  making  an  excellent 
material  for  taking  casts,  &c.  If,  however,  it  is  burnt  at  too 
high  a  temperature,  it  loses  this  property  and  is  incapable  of 
reabsorbing  water. 
Magnesia. — This  substance  resembles  lime,  and  is  generally 


21  \:'-\  ^^^^  -^^ 

found  with  it  in  combination  with  carbonic  acid,  as  in  dolo-  .^  /  , 
mite,  raagnesian  limestone,  serpentine,  etc.;  it  is  also  found  t'J/^^ 
combined  with  silica,  a  variety  of  which  is  familiar  as  meer- 
schaum, from  which  pipes  are  made.  There  are  also  two  other 
forms,  the  carbonate  of  magnesia,  and  the  sulphate,  which  is 
called  Epsom  salts.  Magnesia  must  be  present  for  plants  to  have 
health,  but  in  abundance  often  acts  injuriously;  combined  with 
phosphoric  acid,  it  forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  ash  of  the 
cereals,  as  wheat,  barley,  etc.,  and  it  occurs  chiefly  in  the  bran. 

Potash. — When  wood  is  burned,  a  greyish  white  ash  is  left: 
this  is  chiefly  carbonate  of  potash  ;  by  strong  firing  this  is  con- 
verted into  the  potashes  of  the  shops,  which  is  a  mixture  of 
carbonate  and  caustic  potash.  This  more  purified,  that  is,  con- 
taining less  carbonate  and  more  caustic,  is  called  pearlash  ; 
and  when  pure,  caustic  potash,  which  i&a  combination  of  oxygen 
and  the  metal  potassium.  The  "  lye  "  from  wood  ashes  is  a  solu- 
tion of  carbonate  of  potash,  and  is  used  largely  in  washing,  as  it 
softens  hard  water  by  precipitating  the  lime  as  carbonate,  and 
the  potash  unites  with  all  greasy  matters  to  form  soap.  The 
potash  of  the  soil  is  derived  chiefly  from  feldspar,  which  con- 
tains sixteen  per  cent.,  and  which,  as  we  have  stated,  is  a  con- 
stituent of  granite.  Granite  contains  about  one  per  cent,  of 
pure  potash. 

Soda. — This  substance  resembles  potash,  and  appears  to  take 
the  place  in  marine  plants  that  potash  does  in  land  plants;  the 
ash  of  sea  weed  consisting  chiefly  of  carbonate  of  soda.  In  soils 
it  occurs  chiefly  as  chloride  of  sodium  or  common  salt,  and  is 
found  only  in  small  quantity. 

Phosphorus. — This  substance  is  a  yellowish  semi-transparent 
substance,  soft  as  wax,  and  inflammable  by  the  slightest  friction  ; 
on  burning,  it  combines  with  oxygen  and  forms  phosphoric 
acid.  In  combination  with  lime  and  magnesia  it  is  found  in 
soils;  and  in  the  same  combination  it  constitutes  a  large  part 
of  the  bones  of  animals.  When  bones  are  burnt  a  tine  white 
ash  is  left.  This  is  the  "  bone  ash  "  of  commerce  and  consists 
of  about  eighty  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime.  If  this  ash  is 
mixed  with  charcoal,  and  heated  in  a  retort,  the  phosphorus 
distils  over  and  is  caught  by  drops  in  water.  This,  however,  is 
a  dangerous  experiment.  As  this  substance  is  found  in  such 
small  quantity  in  soils,  and  in  such  large  quantity  in  plants,  it 
is  the  one  soonest  exhausted,  and,  therefore,  has  to  be  replaced 
by  the  superphosphate  of  commerce. 

Sulphur^  also  called  brimstone,  is  a  hard,  yellow,  brittle  sub- 
stance, devoid  of  smell  or  taste.  It  is  found  around  volcanoes 
mixed  with  earthy  impurities  :  by  melting  the  sulphur  is  freed 
from  these,  and  imported  for  the  purpose  of  making  sulphuric 
acid.  In  the  soil  sulphur  is  generally  found  as  sulphate  of 
lime. 

Chlorine  and   Fluorine.      Little   need  be   said  of  these   sub- 


22 

stances.  They  occur  in  soils  combined  with  soda  and  lime,  the 
first  as  common  salt  or  chloride  of  sodium,  and  the  latter  as 
fluor  spar,  or  fluoride  of  calcium.  This  is  absorbed  by  plants  and 
is  conveyed  to  animals  chiefly  to  form  the  enamel  of  the  teeth  ; 
it  also  exists  in  smaller  quantity  in  the  bones.  Common  salt 
occurs  in  large  beds,  known  as  rock  salt:  it  is  also  found  in  the 
atmosphere  near  the  sea,  and  also  occasionally  in  the  rain  of 
places  far  interior,  where  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  carried  by 
high  winds. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PLANTS. 


All  plants  are  composed  as  we  have  said,  of  two  parts ;  the 
organic  and  the  mineral;  the  latter  we  have  treated  of  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  while  the  organic  parts  are  those  derived 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  are  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen  and 
nitrogen,  and  are  built  up  into  more  complex  forms  by  the  vital 
force  of  the  plant. 

Some  plants  require  more  of  one  substance  than  others,  and 
on  this  is  based  the  principal  of  rotation  as  has  been  said. 

Thus,  thera  are  the  potash  plants,  as  corn,  beets,  turnips  and 
potatoes,  whose  ash  contains  more  than  half  its  weight  of 
potash. 

The  lime  plants,  such  as  beans,  peas,  clover,  tobacco,  have 
their  ash  chiefly  composed  of  lime  and  magnesia. 

There  are  also  the  silica  plants,  such  as  wheat,  rye,  oats, 
barley. 

In  all  these  different  ashes,  of  whatsoever  class,  phosphoric 
acid  forms  a  large  proportion,  and  is  usually  united  with  the 
predominant  bases  of  the  ash. 

Now  as  these  ingredients  are  necessary  for  the  plants  to  grow 
and  mature,  they  must  be  present  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  in 
a  readily  available  form  ;  that  is,  there  must  be  enough  of  them 
soluble  in  water. 

These  mineral  constituents  of  plants  form  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  weight  of  the  plant,  from  three  to  six  per  cent., 
and  they  were  for  a  long  time  considered  of  no  consequence, 
but  experience  has  proved  their  absolute  necessity  for  the 
growth  of  crops  ;  and  as  surely  as  crops  are  continually  grown 
and  exported,  so  surely  does  the  land  diminish  in  productiveness, 
unless  restored  by  artificial  means.     This  is  manuring. 

To  show  how  large  is  the  quantity  of  these  necessary  sub- 
stances which  is  removed,  we  transcribe  several  tables: 


23 

WHEAT. 

Twenty-five  bushels  of  wheat,  at  60  lbs.  to  the  bushel,  the 
product  of  an  acre,  weighs  1,500  pounds  ;  the  straw  of  this 
grain  will  weigh  3,000  lbs.  The  wheat  and  straw  removes 
from  each  acre  of  land  the  following  weights  of  the  elements  : 

Grain.  Straw.  Total. 

Ammonia 41.71  lbs.  10.18  lbs.  51.89  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid 15,00  "  11.10  "  26.10  " 

Sulphuric  Acid 1.08  "          5.10  '*  6.90  '* 

Lime 1.35  «  12.00  "  13.35  " 

Magnesia 4.65  "          5.10  "  9.75  *' 

Potash 12.00  "  23  70  "  35.70  " 

Silica 1.05  «  143.10  "  144,15  « 

The  table  shows  also  the  relative  amounts  of  the  different 
elements  required  to  raise  wheat. 

INDIAN  COKN. 

Fifty  bushels  of  corn — the  estimated  crop  of  an  acre — of  58  lbs. 
to  the  bushel  =  2,900  lbs.  This  weight  of  corn  will  require 
3,000  lbs.  of  stalk  and  cob  (when  dry),  and  will  contain: 

Grain.  Stalk  and  Cob.        Total. 

Ammonia 34.22  lbs.  6.06  lbs.  40.22  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid 25.81  ''  13.50  "  39.31  " 

Sulphuric  Acid 2.90  "  8.40  "  11.30  " 

Little 87  "  17.70  "  18.57  " 

Magnesia 7.83  "  9.30  "  17.13  " 

Potash 15.08  "  59.70  "  74.78  " 

Silica 2.32  "  81.60  "  83.92  « 

The  reader  will  notice  that  Indiau  corn  requires  much  more 
phosphoric  acid  and  potash  than  wheat,  while  the  amount  of 
ammonia  is  only  a  little  more  than  half  as  much  ;  consequently, 
its  nutritive  properties  as  food  are  in  about  the  same  propor- 
tion; that  is,  in  proportion  to  the  ammonia.  Corn  stalks  con- 
tain a  large  amount  of  potash  and  silica,  and,  when  properly 
prepared  as  manures,  will  furnish  these  elements  for  other  crops. 
From  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  ammonia  required  by 
the  corn  crop,  it  can  be  raised  at  less  cost  to  the  soil  than  wheat, 
because  ammonia  is  one  of  the  most  costly  of  the  organic 
elements. 


8.10  « 

21.75 

3.00  « 

10.50 

12.30  « 

13.35 

4.50  " 

6.75 

24.00  *' 

32.55 

90.00  « 

97.80 

24 

EYE. 

Thirty  bushels— estimated  product  of  an  acre— of  50  lbs.  to 
the  bushel  z=  1,500  lbs.;  the  same  weight  as  25  bushels  of  wheat. 
This  crop  requires  at  least  3,000  lbs.  of  straw.  The  grain  and 
straw  contain : 

Grain.  Straw.  Total. 

Ammonia 34.05  lbs.      8.70  lbs.      42.75  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid 13.65  « 

Sulphuric  Acid. 7.50  " 

Lime 1.05  " 

Magnesia 2.25  *' 

Potash ^ 8.55  *' 

Silica 7.80  " 

By  comparing  the  above  table  with  the  one  giving  the  com- 
position of  wheat,  the  reader  can  understand  why  larger  con- 
tinuous crops  of  rye  than  of  wheat  can  be  raised  from  the  same 
soil ;  because  rye  does  not  require  so  much  of  those  elements 
which  are  first  exhausted  in  soils  as  wheat  does.  In  like  man- 
ner, by  studying  the  composition  of  different  crops,  and  noting 
the  amounts  of  the  different  elements  required  to  produce  them, 
we  can  understand  why  farmers  should  have  a  dollar  for  a 
bushel  of  wheat,  when  corn  is  selling  at  fifty  cents,  and  rye  at 
seventy-five.  Such  an  examination  shows  that  the  quantity, 
and  consequently  the  price  of  any  crop,  are  naturally  regulated 
by  the  amount  of  certain  valuable  substances  required  for  its 
production. 

OATS. 

Fifty  bushels  of  oats — the  estimated  product  of  an  acre — 
of  33  lbs.  to  the  bushel=l,650  lbs.  This  amount  of  grain  re- 
quires about  2,000  lbs.  of  straw.   The  grain  and  straw  contain  : 


Grain.  Straw.  Total. 

Ammonia 37.45  lbs.        7.80  lbs.        45.25  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid 10.39 

Sulphuric  Acid 6.62 

Lime 1.81 

Magnesia  3.47 

Potash 7.59 

Silica 2.14 


4.00  "  14.59  " 

3.20  "  9.82  " 

7.40  '*  9.21  " 

3.80  "  7.27  " 

6.00  "  13.59  " 

45.40  "  47.54  " 


The  reader  will  note  the  large  amount  of  ammonia  required 
by  this  crop.  This  accounts  for  the  nutritive  properties  of  the 
grain  and  straw.  The  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  is 
small  compared  with  that  of  other  cereals. 


25 

BAELEY. 

Thirty  bushels  of  barley — the  estimated  product  of  an  acre — 
of  48  lbs.  to  the  bu8hel=i440  lbs.  The  straw  weighs  2000  lbs. 
The  grain  and  straw  contain  : 

Grain.  Straw.  Total. 

Ammonia 33.40  lbs.  7  60  lbs.  41.00  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid 9.64  "  5  40  "  15.04  '' 

Sulphuric  Acid 1.73  "  4.40  "  6.13  « 

Lime 72  '*  8.80  "  9  52  " 

Magnesia 2.44  "  2.80  "  5.24  '* 

Potash 6.33  "  25.80  "  32.13  " 

Silica 7.^3  "  68.80  "  76.43  " 

Oat  and  barley  straw  are  good  manures,  as  they  are  rich 
sources  of  nitrogen,  containing,  as  they  do,  a  large  percentage 
of  ammonia.  From  this  cause  also,  they  make  good  fodder  for 
cattle.  Only  a  small  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  is 
required  for  these  straws,  while  the  amount  of  silica  is  only  one 
half  of  that  required  for  wheat  straw. 

POTATOES. 

One  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes,  of  60  lbs.  to  the  bushel= 
6000  lbs.  of  tubers.  The  tops,  when  dry,  weigh  about  3000  lbs.; 
and  the  tops  and  tubers  of  such  a  crop  contain  : 

Tubers.  Tops.  Total. 

Ammonia 21.00  lbs.  1.50  lbs.  22.50  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid 33.00  <'  18.00  "  5100  '' 

Sulphuric  Acid 12.60  "  15.50  "  28.10  " 

Lime 4  20  "  55.00  "  59.20  " 

Magnesia 7.80  "  10.50  "  18.30  " 

Potash 109.00  "  70.00  "  179.00  " 

Silica 13.00"  30.00"  43.00'' 

Twenty  bushels  of  wheat  require  15  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid 
for  the  grain,  and  11  lbs.  for  the  straw;  while  100  bushels  of 
potatoes  require  double  this  amount.  Hence,  two  medium  crops 
of  wheat  exhaust  only  as  much  of  this  valuable  element  as  one 
crop  of  potatoes.  Also,  only  one-sixth  the  amount  of  potash 
required  for  potatoes  is  necessary  for  the  wheat  crop.  In  rais- 
ing potatoes,  few  farmers  supply  a  sufficient  amount  of  phos- 
phoric acid  and  potash.  Hence,  this  plant  and  its  tubers  have 
become  constitutionally  deteriorated  on  most  farms,  and  liable 
to  speedy  decay.  A  bushel  of  potatoes  contains  only  about 
one-seventh  the  amount  of  nitrogen  contained  in  a  bushel  of 
wheat,  and  its  nutritive  value  for  the  production  of  blood  and 
muscle  is  in  the  same  proportion. 


26 

CLOVER  HAY. 

Two  tons,  or  4,000  lbs.,  of  dried  clover  may  be  considered  an 
average  crop  per  acre.     This  amount  -contains  : 


Ammonia 52  00  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid  ..  ..  19.76  " 
Sulphuric  Acid 7.50  " 


Lime 75  00  lbs. 

Magnesia  21.00  " 

Potash 80.69  " 


Silica 18.65  lbs. 

Clover  requires  a  large  amount  of  potash  and  ammonia,  while 
the  amount  of  silica  required  is  small.  G-reat  benefits  are  real- 
ized by  growing  this  crop;  it  sends  its  roots  deep  into  the  soil, 
and  brings  up  the  phosphate  and  sulphate  of  lime,  also  potash 
and  magnesia;  and  when  the  clover  is  ploughed  under,  as  a 
green  manure,  it  furnishes  a  large  amount  of  the  nitrogen  re- 
quired for  a  heavy  crop  of  wheat. 

All  root  crops  require  a  rich  soil  to  do  well.  Twenty  tons  of 
turnips  or  carrots,  with  the  tops — which  is  a  large  crop  for  an 
acre — require : 

Turnips.  Carrots. 

Ammonia 42  00  lbs.  48.00  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid  45.00  "  39.00  " 

Sulphuric  Acid 50.00"  57.00" 

Lime  90.00  "  197.00  " 

Magnesia 14.00  "  29.00  " 

Potash      140.00  "  134.00  " 

Silica 55.00"  60.00" 

Tobacco  and  cotton  require  a  rich  soil  to  grow  luxuriantly, 
as  the  following  table,  showing  the  amounts,  in  pounds,  of  inor- 
ganic elements  contained  in  1,000  lbs.  of  the  stems  and  leaf  of 
tobacco,  and  the  fibre,  seed,  and  stalk  of  cotton,  in  their  air- 
dried  state,  will  show  : 

Cotton, 

Tobacco. 

Phsophoric  Acid 8.6 

Sulphuric  Acid 9.3 

Lime  88  8 

Magnesia , 25.0 

Potash    73.7 

Silica 23.0 

We  regret  that  we  could  not  obtain  reliable  analyses  of  cotton 
and  tobacco,  showing  the  amount  of  nitrogen  or  ammonia  re- 
quired. The  reader  can  see  that  in  raising  tobacco,  a  large 
amount  of  lime  and  potash  is  required,  while  the  amount  of 
phosphoric  acid  is  small.     The  cotton  plant  requires  more  phos- 


Mbre. 

Seed. 

Stalk. 

83 

14.8 

5.5 

5.6 

1.6 

0.5 

25.7 

2.4 

7.0 

14.5 

5.6 

2.2 

54.0 

14.4 

8.8 

1.3 

3.4 

25 

27 

phoric  acid,  but  either  crop  can  be  raised  more  readily  and  pro- 
fitably from  ordinary  soils,  where  climate  is  suitable,  than  either 
wheat  or  corn. 

The  foregoing  Tables  are  of  great  value  to  the  farmer  and 
planter,  in  showing  them  the  amount  of  the  different  valuable 
elements  required  by  different  crops  ;  also,  how  far  the  commer- 
cial manures  of  a  known  composition  are  able  to  supply  the 
material  for  these  crops.  If  the  reader  wishes  to  know  how 
much  of  those  elements  which  are  not  usually  applied  as  princi- 
pal constituents  of  manures,  such  as  oxygen,  hydrogen,  chlorine, 
iron,  soda,  and  carbon,  is  required  by  plants,  he  may  refer  to  the 
Tables  on  pages  28  and  29  which  will  show  him  the  percentage 
of  these  substances;  and  from  these  he  can  readily  calculate  the 
amount  required  by  different  crops  for  an  acre. 

Every  crop  should  be  supplied  with  the  full  amount  of  all  the 
substances  needed  to  bring  it  to  maturity.  That  this  vital  prin- 
ciple is  not  understood,  or  at  least  attended  to,  is  painfully  evi- 
dent from  an  examination  of  the  statistics  furnished  in  the  re- 
ports of  the  Agricultutal  Department,  at  Washington.  By  these 
reports  we  find  that  the  average  of  the  amounts  of  the  different 
crops  raised  on  an  acre  in  thirty  States  of  the  Union,  is  as 
follows : 


Wheat 11,56  bushels. 

Indian  Corn 28.00         " 

Eye 13.30 

Oats 23.95         " 


Barley 19.14  bushels. 

Buckwheat 17.68 

Potatoes 93.22        " 

Hay 1.28  tons. 


The  above  averages  show  conclusively  that  there  is  a  great 
necessity  for  a  more  extended  use  of  manufactured  manures. 

Even  Pennsylvania,  that  boasts  of  her  fertile  soils  and  the 
perfection  of  her  system  of  agriculture,  produces  only  the  fol- 
lowing average  of  the  above  named  crops  per  acre  : 


Wheat 12.8  bushels. 

Eye  13.0 

Barley 21.4         " 

Potatoes 88  0         " 


Indian  Corn 35.0  bushels. 

Oats  27.8 

Buckwheat 16.5 

Hay. 1.3  tons. 


But  this  will  favorably  contrast  with  South    Carolina,  which 
shows  the  lowest  average  production,  as  follows: 


Wheat 5.6  bushels. 

Eye 5.0      " 

Barley 9.0       " 


Corn 10.2  bushels. 

Oats 9.7      " 

Potatoes    101.0      " 


28 
INOEGANIC  ELEMENTS. 

TABLE  showing  the  amount  of  inorganic  and  mineral  substances  usually 
found  in  100  pounds  of  the  plants  named,  in  their  marketable  condi- 
tion ;  serves  as  a  key  to  the  application  of  the  proper  elements  as  fer- 
tilizers. 


Wheat 

Wheat  straw 

Eye 

Eye  straw 

Barley 

Barley  straw 

Oats 

Oat  straw 

Buckwheat 

Buckwheat   straw. 

Indian  corn 

Corn  stalks 

Peas 

Pea  straw 

Beans..., 

Bean  straw 

Potatoes  

Beets 

Carrots 

Turnips .. 


S 

0.09 
0.40 
0.07 
0.41 
0.05 
0.44 
0.11 
0.37 
0.13 
1.10 
0.03 
0.59 
0.14 
1.94 
0.25 
1.51 
0  01 
0.03 
0.09 
0.08 


0.31 
0  17 
0.23 
0.16 
0.17 
0.14 
0.21 
0.19 
0.20 
0.21 
0.27 
0.31 
0.19 
0.36 
0.17 
0.43 
0.02 
0  04 
0  04 
0.02 


07  0.02  0.80  0 

770 
52  0, 
01  0, 
53 'o, 
44 


05  0.79 
02j0.57 
0410  80 
01  0.44  0 


11.29 
.01  [0.46 
0411.00 
02|0  17 

...2.76 
02  0.52 


27  0 


24  0 
33  0. 
01  0 
020 

020 

oro 


1.99 
1. 00 
1.07 
1.34 
1.96 
0.20 
0.21 
0  29 
0.32 


1.00 
0.37 
0.91 
0.27 
0.67 
0.27 
0.63 
0.20 
1.00 
0.61 
0.89 
0.45 
0.87 
0.35 
0  96 
0.47 
0.06 
0.06 
0.08 


0.12 
0.17 
0.50 
0.10 
0.12 
0.22 
0  45 
0.16 
0.44 
0.31 
0.10 
0.28 
0.11 
0.80 
0.13 
0.13 
0.02 
0.02 
0.05 


0.070.08 


29 

Table  showing  the  percentage  of  moisture  ;  of  albuminous  and  glutinous 
compounds ;  of  starah.  gum,  sugar  and  woody  fibre ;  and  of  ash  and 
nitrogen,  and  the  equivalent  in  ammonia  contained  in  the  different  pro- 
ducts.    It  also  shows  their  relative  value  as  food  : 


1 

Aibuminous  and 

Glutinous 
Compounds. 

Starch,  Gum, 
Sugar,  and 
Woody  Fibre. 

CO 

i 
1 

i 

-to 

to  . 
S    B 

•;j  ft 

14 

Common  Grass 

48.00 

16.00 

10.94 

8.25 

6.42 

10.20 

85.20 

90.43 

75.00 

10.80 

8.75 

15.00 

10.00 

10.10 

8.75 

8  55 

6.20 

15.10 

12  00 

2.06 

8.12 

1.80 

2.15 

1  80 

1.08 

1.50 

1.35 

2.20 

23  40 

22.81 

11.25 

10.57 

14.20 

14.50 

19.50 

9.60 

6.27 

35  00 

.47.74 
68.38 
82.12 
84.50 
86.66 
88.22 
12.40 
7.72 
21.90 
62.70 
65.04 
70.75 
77.33 
67.20 
78.10 
69.10 
83.10 
78.23 
34.50 

2.20 
7.60 
5.14 
5.10 
5.12 
5.50 
0.90 
0.50 
0.90 
3.10 
3.40 
3.00 
2.10 
3.50 
8.65 
2.85 
2.20 
0.40 
4.50 

100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100  00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100  00 
100.00 

0.33 
1.30 
0.35 
0.39 
0.35 
0.24 
0.24 
0.21 
0.35 
3.74 
3.65 
1.18 
1.69 
2.27 
2.32 
2.41 
1.52 
1.00 
5.60 

0  40 

Clover  Hay  i 

1.58 

Barley  Straw 

0.42 

Oat  Straw 

0.47 

Wheat  Straw 

0.42 

Corn  Stalks 

0,29 
0.29 

Carrots 

Turnips 

0.26 

Potatoes 

0.42 

Peas 

4,54 

Beans 

4.43 

Indian  Corn 

1  43 

Kye 

Oats  

2.05 
2.75 

Barley 

2  81 

Wheat 

2  92 

Buckwheat 

1.84 

Kice 

1  21 

Cotton  Seed  Cake 

6  80 

Plants  by  their  vital  force  assimilate  the  elements  of  both 
the  soil  and  atmosphere,  and  turn  these  elements  into  food  for 
herbiverous  animals,  which  in  turn  also  serve  for  food  for  the 
carniverous  animals  and  man,  thus  to  borrow  a  simile,  if  we 
take  a  field  and  plant  grass,  and  put  a  dog  thereon  he  will 
starve,  put  a  sheep,  and  the  sheep  will  eat  the  grass,  and  then 
serve  as  food  for  the  dog. 

The  organic  portions  of  plants  are,  as  we  have  said,  derived 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  are  built  up  into 

1st.  Albumen  and  gluten,  which  contain  nitrogen,  and  whose 
percentage  in  any  grain  is  the  test  of  its  food  value. 

2d.  Starch,  sugar,  gum^  and  oil,  which  are  rich  in  carbon,  and 
whose  functions  are  chiefly  to  make  fat,  and  so  to  sustain  the 
necessary  heat  of  animals.  This  oil,  or  fatty  matter,  renders 
the  grains  in  which  they  are  found  more  easy  of  digestion,  as 
in  corn  and  the  yolk  of  an  Qgg. 

Carniverous  animals  are  nearly  destitute  of  fat,  and  should 
an  animal  be  debarred  from  exercise,  and  fed  on  grain  rich  in 
carbon  as  corn,  it  rapidly  increases  in  fat,  as  the  carbon  is  not 
burnt  out  by  the  lungs,  but  is  deposited  in  the  tissures. 


30 

3d.  Woody  fibre,  which  is  the  part  of  plants  that  sustain 
them  in  their  erect  posture.  This  is  also  rich  in  carbon,  but  is 
not  readily  assimilated  so  as  to  serve  for  animal  food.  Ihe 
tender  shoots,  however,  of  young  trees  are  consumed  by  ani- 
mals, of  this  material  also  paper  is  made,  and  in  the  laboratory 
of  the  chemist  it  can  be  turned  into  starch  or  sugar. 

Fourth  and  last  portion  is  moisture,  which  constitutes  the 
largest  part  by  weight  of  nearly  all  plants  and  animals. 


CHAPTER    V. 

COMPONENTS    OF    FERTILIZERS    AND    WHERE   FOUND. 

From  the  preceding  tables  it  will  be  seen  how  much  min- 
eral matter  is  carried  away  by  crops,  and  it  can  readily  be 
understood  that  this  deficiency  cannot  possibly  be  restored  to 
the  soil  by  atmospheric  action.  Therefore- it  becomes  necessary 
that  those  elements  which  are  in  least  quantity  should  be  arti- 
ficially returned. 

These  substances  are  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  ammonia,  and 
lime. 

All  experience  has  demonstrated  that  stable  manure  is  about 
the  best  thing  to  restore  worn  out  lands,  and  if  enough  of  it 
could  be  gotten  there  could  be  no  use  for  the  commercial  fer- 
tilizers of  the  market.  But  it  cannot  be  obtained,  and  there- 
fore the  farmer  should  try  to  save  all  he  has  and  to  make  it  go 
as  far  as  possible  by  the  use  of  adjuncts. 

The  reason  why  this  manure  is  so  useful  is  because  it  con- 
tains all  the  elements  of  plant  food  in  an  easily  soluble  condi- 
tion. Solubility  is  nothing  but  minute  division  and  the  mineral 
refuse  of  the  animal  having  passed  through  the  system,  has 
been  acted  upon  by  all  the  acids  of  the  digestive  organs,  and  is 
most  minutely  divided. 

But  even  stable  manure  can  be  helped  for  those  plants  which 
require  some  particular  element,  in  large  quantity,  by  adding 
that  element  to  it  in  the  compost  pile.  Thus  all  cereals  requir- 
ing large  quantities  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  would  be 
increased  in  yield  by  the  addition  of  a  high  grade  superphos- 
phate, yielding  a  large  amount  of  phosphoric  acid,  as  the  Etiwan 
Dissolved  Bone,  or  better,  by  the  Etiwan  Crop  Food,  containing 
both  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  large  quantities. 

We  have  said  the  principal  elements  to  be  restored  to  land 
are  phosphoric  acid,  phosphate  ammonia,  and  lime.  Let  us 
first  examine  the  sources  from  which  the  farmer  can  obtain 
them  on  his  own  farm. 

His  home  resources  of  supply  of  phosphoric  acid  are  very 
small,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  tables. 


31 

Potash  can  be  obtained  in  fair  quantities  from  ashes  and  the 
leaves  of  trees.  Bat  where  the  tinabers  supply  a  good  ash,  the 
soil,  generally,  contains  a  sufficient  supply  of  potash. 

The  barn-yard  is  also  a  good  source  of  supplying  the  same. 

Ammonia  is  abundantly  supplied  by  cotton  seed,  stable,  and 
barn-yard  manure.  Nature  also  supplies  an  indetermin-ete  quan- 
tity of  this  valuable  gas  from  the  atmosphere,  which  supply  is 
brought  by  rain  and  dew?,  and  is  also  absorbed  by  the  humus, 
or  organic  portions  of  soils. 

This  amount  of  ammonia,  which  is  variable  in  fact,  varies 
from  day  to  day,  so  that  it  is  easy  to  see  how  useless  would  be 
the  analyses  of  a  soil  to  determine  its  fertility. 

While  ammonia  is  necessary  for  all  crops,  and  in  compara- 
tively large  quantities  for  the  cereals,  any  farmer  who  grows 
cotton,  and  economizes  his  home  s'upply,  need  never  purchase  a 
single  pound. 

Lime  is  easily  gotten  in  many  places  from  marl,  or  from  burnt 
lime.  The  remarkable  action  often  seen  from  an  application 
of  this  substance,  can  in  no  wise  be  explained  by  the  idea  of  its 
simple  deficiency  in  the  soil.  It  is  caused  mainly  by  its  chemi- 
cal action,  by  decomposing  the  organic  and  mineral  constitu- 
ents of  the  soil,  thus  setting  free  plant-food  which  had  been 
previously  insoluble. 

These  different  substances  have  very  different  chemical  ac- 
tions when  mixed,  and  if  done  ignorantly  may  result  injuriously. 
Thus,  lime  or  ashes,  mixed  with  ammoniacal  compounds,  sets 
the  ammonia  free,  and  it  files  off  into  the  air,  so  that  in  a  com- 
post of  an  easily  decomposable  substance,  such  as  stable  or 
farm-yard  manure,  or  cotton  seed,  lime  and  ashes  ,  should  be 
excluded,  and  some  retaining  substance,  such  as  dissolved  bone 
or  land  plaster  applied. 

The  former  preferable  on  account  of  the  phosphoric  acid  con- 
tained, which  unites  at  once  with  the  ammonia,  while  the  latter 
depends  on  a  double  decomposition.  In  the  Etiwan  Dissolved 
Bone  both  are  present  in  large  quantity,  and  have  a  powerful 
effect. 

The  farmer  thus  should  have  two  piles.  In  one  of  which  he 
puts  his  easily  decomposable  substances,  such  as  cotton  seed, 
stable,  and  barn  yard  manure,  with  Dissolved  Bone,  which  can 
be  used  in  from  three  to  four  weeks,  or  less  time  ;  and  another, 
in  which  are  put  all  the  straw,  corn  stalks,  cotton  stalks,  leaves, 
fence  corner  scrapings,  muck,  or  swamp  mud,  etc.,  with  lime 
and  ashes.  This  should  be  kept  wet  with  water  and  with  all 
the  drainings  of  the  laundry  and  kitchen,  and  should  be  turned 
or  replied  in  from  four  to  six  months,  at  which  time  Dissolved 
Bone  should  be  added  in  liberal  quantities. 

This  is  more  fully  explained  in  a  subsequent  chapter  on  com- 
posting. 

To  show  the  value  of  the  different  substances  which  can  be 


32 

obtained  upon  the  fiirm,  we  give  below  some  tables  indicating 
their  analyses. 

The  following  table  shows  the  per  centage  of  the  substances 
named,  contained  in  the  different  varieties  of  leaves  in  their  dry 
state  : 

Phosphoric  Acid.    Potash.  Lime. 

Mulberry    Leaves... .0.36  per  cent.    0.69  per  cent.    0.90  per  cent. 

Horse-chestn't  " 0  61         «  1.47         "  3  04 

Walnut  " 0.28         "  1.86         "  3.76 

Beech  "  ....0.28         '*  0.35         "  3.03        " 

Oak  " 0.40         "  0.17         "  2.38       " 

Fir  •  " 0.23         "  0.14         "  0.58 

Ked  Pine  " 0.48         "  0.09         "  0.88       *' 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and 
potash  cotained  in  one  hundred  pounds  of  the  different  varieties 
of  ashes  named,  together  with  their  values: 

Phosphoric 
Acid. 

Beech 5.3  lbs. 

Birch  8.5     " 

Oak 5.5.     " 

Walnut 12,2     '' 

Poplar ...13.1     " 

Apple  4.6     " 

Eed  Pine 5.1     '• 

Coal  ashes  {anthracite) 5     " 

Peat     "  20     " 

We  shall  now  show  the  value  of  one  thousand  pounds  of 
well  rotted  and  air-dried  stable  manure,  calculated  from  the 
analyses  of  Dr.  Yoelcker  : 

Water  and  organic 
volatile  matter 

Ammonia 30   "    $7.50 

Phosphoric  Acid 18    " 2.25 

Potash 20"    1.60 


Yalue  of 

Potash. 

100  lbs. 

16.1  lbs. 

$1,51 

11.6    " 

1.45 

10  0    " 

1.05 

15.3    '' 

1-77 

14  0    " 

1.71 

12.0    " 

1.16 

5.2    " 

.64 

0.15    « 

.3 

0.2      " 

.11 

!■ 


670  lbs. 


Total  $11.35 


We  shall  now  give  the  value  of  the  urine  of  different  animals, 
as  shown  by  the  fertilizing  salts  contained  in  one  thousand 
pounds  of  each  ; 

Water. 

Pig  Urine. ..9.29  lbs. 
Horse    "  ...9.40     " 
Cow       "  ...9.28     '' 
Sheep     "  ...9.65     " 
Human*'  ...9.57     " 


Phos'ric  acid. 

Potash. 

Nitrogen. 

Ammonia. 

trace, 

6.0  lbs. 

11.8  lbs. 

= 

14.3  lbs. 

trace, 

2.8     " 

15.4  *' 

— 

18.7     '' 

trace, 

4.5     " 

4.4  '' 

= 

5.3     " 

1.3  lbs. 

7.2     " 

13.1  " 

= 

15.9     " 

4.0  '' 

2.0     " 

1.42  '* 

= 

17.2     « 

33 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  produced  annually  by 
a  single  animal  of  the  kind  named,  and  its  value  as  manure, 
when  fermented  : 


Yearly 

Phosphoric 

amount. 

Acid. 

Potash. 

Ammonia. 

Value. 

Pig  Urine. .. 1000  Ib'S. 

trace, 

6.0  lbs. 

14.3  lbs. 

$4  00 

Horse    "  . .  2000    " 

trace, 

5.0    " 

37.4    " 

9.79 

Cow       "  ..2000    " 

trace, 

9.0    " 

8.8    " 

2.92 

Sheep    "#.   500    '' 

0.6  lbs. 

3.6    " 

8.0    " 

2.35 

Human"  ...  750    " 

3.0    " 

15    " 

10.7    " 

3.16 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  water  and  of  the 
valuable  constituents  only  contained  in  1,000  lbs.  of  dung  of  the 
animals  named  in  its  natural  or  undried  state : 


Horse  '* 

Cow    "     864 

Chicken" 850 

Sheep      " 670 

Human  " 750 


Water. 

840  lbs. 
743  " 


Pho8i)horic 

acid.  Potash.  Nitrogen.      Ammonia. 

8  0  lbs.       5.0  lbs.       7.0  lb8.=  S.b  lbs 

12.2  "  28  0  «  5.4  «   ==  6.5  " 

5  2  "  10.7  "  35  "   =  4.2  " 

15.2  "  5.5  "  21.5  ''   =26.1  " 

22.7  "  7.0  "  7.1  "   =  8.5  " 

3.3  "  1.0  "  15.0  «   =18.2  *' 


The  following  table  shows  the  amount  produced  annually  by 
a  single  animal  of  the  kind  named,  and  its  value,  assuming  the 
phosphoric  acid  to  be  soluble,  and  the  nitrogen  as  actual  am- 
monia. 


Amount. 

Pig 200  lbs. 

Horse 2,000  " 

Cow 2,000  " 

Chicken 5  " 

Sheep 50  " 

Human 100  " 


Phosphoric 
acid. 


1.6 

24.4 

10.4 
0.076 
1.27 
0.33 


lbs. 


Potash. 

1.0  lbs. 

56.0     " 

21.0  " 
0.03  " 
0.35  « 
0.10  " 


Ammonia.       Value. 


1.7  lbs. 
13.0  " 
85  " 
0.13" 
0.42  " 
1.80  " 


$0.62 

994 

5.15 

.04 

.42 

.50 


The  solid  and  liquid  excretions  taken  together,  will  show  the 
following  annual  value  of  each  animal : 

Pig  Excrements,  solid  and  liquid $  4.62 

Horse        "  "  "      19.73 

Cow  "  "  «      8.07 

Sheep         "  "  "       2.75 

Human      "  «  "      3.66 

It  is  exceedingly  important    that  all  these  solid  and  liquid 
excrements  should  be  retained,  and  for  this  purpose  the  stable 
3 


34 

and  barnyard  should  be  well  lictered,  and  the  litter  gathered 
up  and  placed  under  cover — as  the  most  valuable  ingredients 
are  soluble  in  water,  and  would  be  leached  out  by  rains. 

If  the  interior  of  a  pile  of  manure  becomes  too  dry,  decora- 
position  will  cease,  and  the  manure  become  "  fire-fanged  "^  when 
water  should  be  poured  on.  The  object  to  be  obtained  being 
not  too  much  nor  too  little  water. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  AKT  OF  COMPOSTING. 

It  is  from  the  neglect  of  this  highly  useful  and  important  art 
that  our  planters  and  farmers  are  responsible  for  so  many  ster- 
ile and  uncultivated  fields,  and  for  so  many  high-priced  and 
complicated  fertilizers.  As  long  as  the  planter  takes  from  his 
fields  all  that  they  will  bring  and  carries  it  away,  so  long  will 
the  land  that  he  plants  become  poorer  and  poorer,  until  crop- 
ping is  unremunerative. 

This  is  the  present  condition  of  most  of  the  lands  in  the 
Southern  Atlantic  States;  and  in  order  to  compete  with  the 
great  cotton  States  of  the  Southwest,  our  planters  have  to  fur- 
nish to  their  lands  nearly  all  the  elements  required  for  plant 
food. 

Hence  has  sprung  up  a  trade  in  so  called  "Commercial  Fer- 
tilizers," in  which  all  these  elements,  or  the  most  important  of 
them,  are,  or  are  said  to  be.  These  different  elements  occur  in 
commerce  in  many  and  various  forms,  and  are  brought  from 
different  and  widely  separated  places,  so  that  to  obtain  them, 
import  them,  combine  them,  and  sell  them,  requires  considerable 
knowledge,  judgment,  capital  and  skill.  It  is  evident  that  if 
any  of  these  ingredients  can  be  furnished  and  combined  by  the 
planter,  the  resulting  fertilizer  will  be  cheaper,  and  the  saving 
will  be  proportional  to  the  cost  of  the  ingredient. 

if  ih.Q  whole  Qvo^  were  returned  to  the  field  as  manure.*?? 
the  ingredients  would  be  furnished  for  the  succeeding  one;  but 
in  practice  some  (and  that  generally  the  richest  in  plant  food) 
is  exported,  and  the  residue  is  too  often  tossed  aside  and 
neglected.  Thus  all  that  the  planter  can  do  is  to  save  some 
of  this  plant  food,  while  a  large  part  of  that  exported  has  still 
to  be  bought  from  a  manufacturer  of  those  particular  elements. 

Now  it  so  happens  that  those  elements  which  the  planters 

f  Having  a  dry  frosted  appearance. 


35 

can  save,  are  just  the  most  expensive  of  those  which  he  pur- 
chases, so  that  it  becomes  a  most  important  point  for  him  to 
consider  the  ways  and  means  by  which  this  saving  of  those  ele- 
ments can  be  effected.     This  is  the  art  of  composting. 

Kothing  in  this  world  is  easy ;  and  all  things  to  be  well  done, 
must  be  done  with  accurate  knowledge  and  careful  judgment. 
The  art  of  composting  is  no  exception  to  this,  and  in  order  to 
compost  intelligently,  the  planter  must  know  something  about 
the  chemistry  of  organic  and  inorganic  substances,  and  the  laws 
by  which  he  must  work.  As,  owing  to  the  great  differentiation 
of  knowledge,  we  cannot  expect  all  planters  to  acquire  this 
knowledge,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  chemist  to  interrogate 
nature,  study  her  laws,  and  then  impart  to  him  the  result. 

All  plants  or  portions  of  thent  when  they  die,  and  are  left 
exposed  to  air  and  moisture,  undergo  decomposition,  that  is  the 
highly  complex  arrangement  of  their  atoms  is  broken  up,  and 
more  simple  forms  are  assumed. 

This  decomposition  may  take  place  in  two  ways:  First,  by 
eremacausis,  or  slow  decay,  which  is  an  oxidizing  process ; 
second,  by  putrefaction  or  fermentation,  which  is  a  reducing 
process  •  the  only  difference  between  putrefaction  and  fermenta- 
tion being  that  in  the  former  offensive  odors  are  emitted,  and  in 
the  latter,  none. 

Eremacausis  requires  an  excess  of  free  oxygen,  and  therefore, 
takes  place  in  bodies  freely  exposed  to  the  air,  while  putrefac- 
tion, though  it  seems  to  require  oxygen  to  commence,  only 
proceeds  in  the  absence  of  oxygen,  or  at  least  when  that 
element  is  present  only  in  small  quantity.  Thus,  if  we  take  a 
substance  undergoing  slow  decay,  and  exclude  the  atmosphere, 
putrefaction  sets  in  ;  and  vice  versa,  if  we  take  a  body  in  putre- 
factive decomposition,  and  expose  it  freely  to  the  air,  the  rapid 
decomposition  ceases,  and  slow  oxidation  ensues. 

The  final  results  of  these  two  methods  of  decomposition 
differ  considerably,  and  are  of  especial  importance,  in  this 
inquiry. 

In  eremacausis,  or  slow  decay,  the  carbon  and  oxygen  unite 
to  form  carbonic  acid;  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  to  form  water, 
while  nearly  all  the  nitrogen  escapes  as  free  gas,  a  small  por- 
tion only  forming  nitric  acid;  while  in  putrefaction  a  portion 
only  of  the  carbon  unites  to  form  carbonic  acid,  some  of  it 
escaping  in  combination  with  hydrogen  as  marsh  gas,  some  as 
carbonic  oxide,  while  a  large  portion  remains  as  humus.  The 
hydrogen  also,  though  mostly  combining  as  water,  yet  also 
forms  marsh  gas,  and  remains  as  one  of  the  elements  of  humus; 
while  aZ^  the  nitrogen  unites  with  hydrogen  to  form  ammonia. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  object  of  the  planter  should  be  to 
arrange  his  materials  so  as  to  produce  putrefaction,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  retain  those  valuable  products  which  may  escape 
as  gas  or  in  solution  in  drainage  water. 


36 

The  materials  to  be  used,  are  nearly  all  the  refuse  of  the 
farm,  stable, cattle-pen,  kitchen,  and  house;  the  only  things  to  be 
avoided,  are  wood  ashes  and  lime;  these  must  not  be  put  in 
a  heap,  because  they  evolve  ammonia  from  any  combination  in 
which  it  is,  but  if  they  are  desired  on  the  land,  can  be  sprinkled 
after  ploughing  and  previous  to  harrowing,  the  lime,  especially, 
doing  most  good  when  kept  near  the  surface.  Weeds  also  after 
seeding,  should  be  excluded;  as  they  will  give  endless  trouble 
when  they  sprout. 

Straw,  corn-stalks,  cotton-stalks,  muck,  clearings  of  fence 
corners,  leaves,  all  are  useful;  but  in  the  South,  the  cheapest, 
most  abundant,  and  most  valuable  ingredient  is  cotton  seed; 
here  we  have  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  that  most  costly  ingredi- 
ent, ammonia,  and  also  a  considerable  amount  of  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid;  and  it  is  to  this  compost  that  we  now  direct 
your  attention. 

If  cotton  seed  were  wetted,  piled,  and  left,  in  a  short  time  it 
would  "heat,"  and  putrefaction  setting  in,  nearly  all  the  nitro- 
gen would  escape  as  ammonia,  while  the  other  inorganic 
matters  in  small  quantity,  would  be  left  ready  for  the  next 
crop.  The  object,  therefore,  to  be  attained,  is  to  reta.n  the 
ammonia  in  an  available  state,  and  to  increase  the  amounts  of 
the  other  valuable  elements.  The  one  in  least  quantity  is 
phosphoric  acid,  so  that  the  object  resolves  itself,  into  retaining 
the  ammonia  of  the  seed  and  adding  soluble  phosphoric  acid. 
This  is  done  by  composting  the  cotton  seed  with  the  soluble 
phosphoric  acid  of  the  manufacturer;  and  it  is  evident  that  the 
greater  the  percentage  of  soluble  phosphoric  acid  in  the  pur- 
chased article,  the  greater  the  percentage  of  ammonia  and 
soluble  phosphoric  acid  in  the  compost.  The  ordinary  way  of 
retaining  ammonia  escaping  from  a  compost  heap,  is  to  sprinkle 
with  plaster,  or  put  a  la3'er  of  earth.  In  the  former  case  a 
mutual  decomposition  ensues,  and  sulphate  of  ammonia  and 
carbonate  of  lime  are  formed  ;  while  in  the  latter  case,  the  gas 
is  absorbed  by  the  earth,  with  probably  the  same  and  also  other 
chemical  reactions. 

In  the  retention,  by  means  of  the  dissolved  bone  or  acid 
phosphates  of  commerce,  both  phosphoric  acid  plaster  being 
present,  the  ammonia  can  be  retained  both  as  phosphate  and 
sulphate,  so  that  there  is  very  little  danger  of  any  of  it  escaping 
into  the  atmosphere  and  being  lost. 

For  the  construction  and  management  of  a  compost  heap, 
the  following  mode  of  procedure  is  recommended  : 

In  selecting  the  location,  a  slight  incline  should  be  chosen  ; 
and  from  any  point  as  a  centre,  lay  off  on  each  side  four  feet ; 
now  dig  a  small  ditch  on  the  centre  line,  say  twelve  inches  deep, 
and  twelve  inches  wide,  as  long  as  may  be  necessary,  and  sink  a 
barrel  or  keg  at  its  mouth  to  catch  the  drainings  ;  slope  down 
the  space  from  each  outside  line  of  the  four  feet  radius  to  the 


37 

ditch,  and  if  the  planter  be  thrifty,  cover  loosely  with  plank  the 
whole  bottom ;  haul  the  materials  to  the  spot,  and  commence 
building  the  pile  from  below  upwards. 

Having  thoroughly  soaked  the  cotton  seed  with  all  the  water 
it  will  absorb,  mix  it  intimately  with  the  dissolved  bone,  and 
build  up  the  pile  to  any  convenient  height,  like  the  roof  of  the 
house,  giving  enough  slope  to  shed  rain  ;  finish  each  section  to 
the  top,  sprinkle  on  the  outside  with  dissolved  bone,  and  cover 
with  hay  or  straw  like  a  stack;  then  proceed  in  like  manner 
with  the  next  section  above;  the  advantage  of  j'znis/im^  each 
section  being  that  decomposition  starts  sooner,  so  that  by  the 
time  the  last  section  is  done,  the  first  will  the  sooner  be  ready  ; 
neatly  finish  up  the  job  and  leavQ  to  nature. 

In  about  a  week  or  ten  days,  active  putrefaction  has  set  in 
and  the  interchange  of  elements  above  referred  to  goes  on.  The, 
drainage  water  in  the  barrel  should  be  poured  back  on  the  pile 
from  time  to  time,  and  the  interior  of  the  pile  examined  as  to 
its  temperature  and  dampness,  by  running  a  small  grooved  pole 
into  it;  should  it  be  dry,  and  not  moist,  all  action  will  cease, 
and  water  should  be  poured  on  the  top  ;  after  the  interior  of  the 
seeds  is  disintegrated,  the  heat  diminishes,  and  the  compost  may 
be  used;  but  if  the  pile  be  composed  of  material  other  than 
cotton  seed,  and  not  so  easily  decomposable  (such  as  straw, 
leaves,  etc.,)  when  the  heat  nearly  ceases,  the  pile  should  be 
turned. 

It  is  sometimes  asked  whether  the  mixture  of  seed  and  dis- 
solved bone  could  not  be  as  advantageously  made  in  the  soil ; 
but  it  would  appear  not,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

If  the  mixture  is  made  in  the  soil,  the  conditions  are  more 
favorable  for  eremacausis,  or  slow  decay,  than  for  putrefaction, 
owing  to  the  more  free  access  of  oxygen ;  so  that  the  nitrogen 
of  the  seed  would  go  off  as  free  gas,  and  any  of  it  that  would 
be  inclined  to  form  ammonia,  from  putrefaction  occurring  in 
some  portion  of  the  mass,  would  be  induced  by  the  presence  of 
the  carbonated  bases  in  the  soil  to  form  nitric  acid,  which  is 
much  more  readily  lixiviated  than  ammonia.  As  also  in  the 
germination  of  seeds  some  nitrogen  escapes  as  free  gas,  so  in  the 
soil,  where  the  germination  would  proceed  farther  than  in  the 
pile,  more  nitrogen  would  be  lost. 

In  the  pile,  the  seed,  owing  to  moisture,  sprouts,  and  the 
young  plant,  from  contact  with  the  acid  of  the  dissolved  bone, 
and  from  a  want  of  oxygen,  light,  and  from  the  heat,  dies,  and 
is  then  subject  to  the  laws  of  putrefactive  decomposition  ;  the 
valuable  nitrogen  uniting  with  hydrogen  to  form  ammonia, 
which  is  immediately  seized  by  the  phosphoric  acid  and  re- 
tained, the  matter  may  be  thus  tabulated: 

Points  in  favor  of  the  Pile. 


Objections  against  mixing  in  the  Soil. 
Loss  of  Nitrogen. 
Less  Humus. 

Formation  of  Nitric  Acid  rather  than 
Ammonia. 


Nitrogen  saved  as  Ammonia. 
Humus  formed. 
Kapid  decomposition. 


38 

In  conclusion,  the  writer  would  suggest  that  the  planters  make 
some  comparative  experiments  on  the  two  modes,  and  give  in- 
formation as  to  the  results  ;  for  though  the  chemical  theory  may- 
be in  favor  of  the  pile,  the  difference  in  the  yield  of  the  crop 
may  not  compensate  for  the  greater  expense  of  composting. 


DIEECTIONS   TO   MAKE   AliD  MANAGE  A   COMPOST 

PILE. 

Select  a  slight  incline,  if  possible,  and  from  any  convenient 
point  dig  a  ditch  up  the  hill,  say  ten  inclies  wide  and  six  deep, 
as  long  as  may  be  necessary,  and  sink  a  keg  at  the  mouth  to 
catch  the  drainings.  If  the  country  be  flat,  just  give  the  ditch 
a  slight  inclination  to  the  keg,  and  locate  the  spot  for  the  pile 
where  the  rain  water  will  flow  away  from  the  pile  and  not 
make  a  boggy  place, 

Now,  on  each  side  of  the  ditch,  say  six  feet,  lay  off  a  line 
parallel  to  the  ditch,  with  a  string  or  pegs,  and  slope  down  the 
ground  from  each  of  these  lines  to  the  ditch,  so  that  all  the 
drainings  will  flow  into  the  ditch  ;  cover  the  whole  bottom  with 
plank,  taking  care  to  cover  the  ditch  so  that  the  drainage  water 
can  get  into  it,  and  at  the  same  time  that  it  will  not  be  choked 
by  the  compost  falling  into  it. 

Now,  in  order  to  build  up  the  pile  straight,  erect  a  temporary 
barricade  with  plank  across  the  ditch,  some  two  or  three  feet 
up  hill  from  the  keg;  this  can  easily  be  done  by  putting  two  or 
three  saplings  in  the  ground  for  posts,  bracing  them  from  below, 
and  resting  the  plank  against  them. 

Now  haul  the  materials  to  the  spot,  and  commence  building 
the  pile  from  the  barricade  upwards. 

Having  thoroughly  soaked  the  cotton  seed  with  all  the  water 
it  will  abhorb,  mix  it  intimately  with  an  equal  weight  of  dis- 
solved bone,  and  throw  it  against  the  barricade;  build  up  the 
pile  in  sections,  of  say  six  feet,  to  any  convenient  height,  sloping 
the  sides  so  as  to  shed  rain.  Finish  each  section  to  the  lop, 
sprinkle  the  outside  with  dissolved  bono,  and  cover  with  boards 
or  with  h&j  or  straw,  like  a  stack;  then  proceed  in  like  manner 
with  the  next  section  above  ;  the  advantage  of  finishing  each 
section  being,  that  decomposition  starts  sooner;  so  that  by  the 
time  the  last  section  is  done,  the  first  will  be  the  sooner  ready. 
A  diagram  would  then  look  thus : 


39 


I 'Ditch. 


VIEW  FROM  LOWER  END. 


The  water  which  collects  in  the  keg  should  not  be  suffered  to 
waste,  but  should  be  poured  back  on  the  pile  from  time  to  time, 
and  the  cover  of  the  pile  be  opened  for  the  purpose ;  and  the 
temperature  and  dampness  of  the  interior  should  be  examined 
by  running  a  small  grooved  pole  into  the  mass  at  different 
places,  twisting  it  round  and  round  and  withdrawing  it,  so  as  to 
bring  out  some  of  the  stuff  in  the  middle  ;  if  this  be  done  skil- 
fully, the  planter  can  ascertain  the  condition  of  each  individual 
inch  from  the  outside  to  the  centre.  If  anywhere  the  interior 
be  found  dry,  water  should  be  poured  on  the  top  over  the  part 
90  found ;  and  when  the  interior  of  the  seeds  are  thoroughly 
disintegrated,  and  the  heat  has  nearly  ceased,  the  compost  may 
be  used. 

If  at  any  time  the  smell  of  ammonia  is  perceived,  the  part 
from  which  it  emanates  should  be  carefully  ascertained  and  more 
dissolved  bone  put  on,  or  a  layer  of  earth. 

The  proportions  of  dissolved  bone  and  seed  may  be  varied 
from  those  recommended  above,  but  the  dissolved  bone  should 
not  be  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  weight  of  compost,  provided 
the  dissolved  bone  be  one  of  a  high  grade  of  soluble  phosphoric 
acid.  The  Etiwan  Dissolved  Bone  contains  the  highest  per- 
centage of  soluble  phosphoric  acid  in  the  market. 


THE  APPLICATION  OF  COMPOSTED  FBRTILIZEES  TO 
DIFFEEENT  GRADES  OF  LAIRDS. 


BY  A  FARMER. 


The  only  Commercial  Fertilizers  our  people  habitually  com- 
post are  the  different  superphosphates.  For  this  purpose  it  is 
earnestly  recommended  to  you  to  get  the  highest  grade  of  dis- 
solved bone  in  your  reach,  as  a  dissolved  bone  of  24  per 
cent,  solubility  is  worth  twice  as  much  as  an  acid  phosphate 
of  12  per  cent,  solubility.  Hence,  100  lbs.  of  the  former  will 
go  as  far  as  200  lbs.  of  the  latter.     Many  farmers  used  low  grade 


40 

acid  phosphates,  200  lbs.  to  the  acre,  and  alongside  the  same 
number  of  lbs.  of  a  dissolved  bone,  of  high  grade,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  year  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  about  equal 
in  value.  This  conclusion  comes  from  the  fact  that  the  acid 
phosphate  was  enough,  or,  in  other  words,  had  sufficient  availa- 
ble phosphoric  acid  and  sulphate  of  lime,  while  the  other  con- 
tained more  than  was  wanted,  and  the  excess  was  not  taken 
up 'by  the  plant,  but  remained  in  the  soil,  where  it  is  true  it 
would  not  be  lost,  but  remain  the  valuable  property  of  the 
owner  of  the  soil. 

As  our  capitals  are  short  we  are  not  able  to  make  such  large 
investments,  and  should  only  buy,  pay  for,  and  apply  what  will 
be  returned  to  us  in  the  crops  of  this  year.  It  is  true  that  high 
manuring  will  pay,  but  equally  true  that  it  will  only  pay  when 
followed  by  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  deep  ploughing,  etc : 
and,  even  then,  it  is  not  certain  to  pay,  except  on  lands  that 
have  been  brought  up  for  some  years  past,  and  which  are  in  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  in  farming  language — well  in  heart — 
well  educated  lands. 

For  the  ordinary  field  crops  of  cotton,  from  75  to  150  lbs.  of 
a  high  grade  manipulated  Fertilizer  will  pay  a  better  divi- 
dend on  the  money  invested  than  will  200  lbs.  A  bale  of  cot- 
ton requires  only  about  fourteen  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid  and 
about  eighteen  lbs.  of  potash  to  make  it.  A  24  per  cent,  dissolved 
bone  will  yield  eleven  lbs.  per  100  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  we  can 
always  trust  the  soil  to  supply  some  ;  hence,  until  all  the  other 
ingredients  of  the  soil,  the  seasons,  etc.,  are  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce over  one  bale  per  acre,  100  lbs,  will  be  found  enough  for 
common  plantation  use,  and  especially  for  the  common  field 
cultivation  in  vogue  amongst  us.  Practical  farmers  will  find 
150  lbs.,  perhaps,  the  best  quantity  to  apply. 

It  will  be  best  to  concentrate  your  cotton  seed  and  stable 
manure,  supplying  ammonia,  on  your  poorer  lands,  and  to  use 
the  Dissolved  Bone  on  your  fresh  and  improved  lands.  To 
aid  the  inexperienced,  we  give  below  a  table  for  six  different 
soils. 


Dissolved  bone,  24  per  cent 

Cotton  seed 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphate  lime 

Ammonia  from  cotton  seed  about 
Potash  from  cotton  seed  about... 


No.  l.lNo.  2.IN0.  3. [No.  4.IJSI0.  5.IN0.  b. 


lbs. 
per  acre 


150 
1000 

30 


lbs. 
per  acre 


160 
800 

24 
6 


lbs.       lbs. 
per  acre  per  acre 


150 

500 

16| 

67^ 

16 

4 


150 
300 

67^ 


lbs. 
oeracre 


150 


16i- 
67^ 


lbs. 
per  acre 


150 


16^ 
67^ 


No.  1  represents  very  poor  and  exhausted  lands;  Nos.  2  and 
3  better  grades ;  No.  4  a  good  old  land,  capable  of  producing 
or  growing  a  cotton  stalk,  without  any  fertilizer,  eighteen  to 


41 

twenty  inches  high  ;  Nos.  5  and  6,  rich  old  lands,  new  grounds 
and  bottona  lands.  The  first  line  in  the  table  shows  the  maxi- 
mum amount  of  Dissolved  Bone  of  twenty-four  per  cent,  solu- 
bility recommended  for  an  acre  ;  the  second  line  the  amount  of 
cotton  seed  for  same;  the  third  line  the  amount  of  phosphoric 
acid,  in  pounds,  supplied  by  150  pounds  Dissolved  Bone,  twenty- 
four  per  cent.;  the  fourth  line  the  amount  of  sulphate  of  lime, 
or  land  plaster,  supplied  by  150  pounds  Dissolved  Bone;  the  fifth 
line  the  amount,  in  pounds,  of  ammonia,  approximately,  sup- 
plied by  number  of  pounds  of  cotton  seed  above,  in  same  col- 
umn ;  the  sixth  line  the  amount  of  potash  in  pounds,  approxi- 
mately, supplied  by  the  cotton  seed  in  column  above. 

Lands  of  the  classes  five  and^  six  will  make  crops  without 
ammonia,  and  generally,  except  when  sandy,  have  a  sufiicient 
supply  of  potash.  Of  course  the  farmer  may  vary  this  formula, 
and  may  substitute  stable  manure,  in  whole  or  in  part,  for  cot- 
ton seed. 

In  the  sand  region,  or  on  porous  soils,  it  will  be  best  to  use 
Dissolved  Bone  and  potash  combined.  This  can  be  readily  ob- 
tained by  purchasing  the  Etiwan  Chemical  Crop  Food. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  for  me  to  add  that  strong  stable  manure 
and  cotton  seed  are  about  equal  to  each  other  in  value,  so  far 
as  ammonia  is  concerned. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS, 

The  raw  materials  used  in  the  manufacture  of  commercial 
fertilizers  are  the  different  Phosphates  of  Lime,  Ammoniacal 
matters,  Salts  of  Potash,  Sulphuric  Acid,  and  Nitrate  of  Soda. 

The  sources  of  the  chief  class,  that  is  the  phosphates,  are  all 
natural,  being  bone  black,  ashes,  apatite,  phosphorite,  coprolites, 
and  the  various  "  marl  stones"  and  "  rock  guanos." 

Bone  Black. — This  material,  also  known  as  animal  charcoal, 
is  made  by  calcining  or  burning  raw  bones  in  a  closed  retort,  so 
as  to  drive  off  all  volatile  matter  except  carbon  and  phosphate 
of  lime.  This  residue,  when  ground,  is  sold  to  sugar  refineries 
for  decolorizing  their  solutions.  After  having  been  used  and 
"  revived  "  several  times,  its  bleaching  power  is  exhausted,  and 
it  is  then  sold  either  as  a  manure  itself  or  to  the  manufacturer 
of  superphosphates. 

Bone  Ash  is  a  greyish  white  powder,  obtained  by  calcining  or 
burning  raw  bones  in  an  open  vessel,  so  that  by  the  free  ac- 
cess of  oxygen  all  the  carbon,  organic  matter  and  moisture  is 
driven  off,  and  but  the  mineral  matter  remains.  This  is  composed 


42 

almost  entirely  of  phosphate  of  lime  and  mai^nesia.  The  supplies 
of  this  material  mostly  come  from  the  Li  Plata  districtsof  South 
America  and  the  Baltic,  Mediterranean  and  Black  Sea  ports.  In 
this  manufacture  lar^e  amounts  of  ammonia  are  lost.  These 
two  materials,  bone  black  and  bone  ash,  have  the  phosphate  of 
lime,  in  a  peculiarly  sen-itive  or  a-^similative  condition,  and  it 
would  be  profligate  to  use  them  as  raw  materials  for  conversion 
into  superphosphates.  It  seems  as  if  the  passing  through  the 
animal  economy  renders  phosphate  of  lime  sensitive  to  assim- 
ilation. It  is  only  to  be  regretted  that  the  available  supply  of 
these  materials  is  so  very  limited. 

Apatite. — This  is  a  hard  mineral,  sometimes  crystalized,  at 
others  conchoidal.  It  is  generally  found  in  thin  seams  of  crys- 
talline or  volcanic  rocks.  It  varies  in  color  from  light  green 
to  iron  stone  red.  The  principal  localities  in  which  it  is  found 
is  Northern  Europe,  Canada,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey. 
The  close  structure  of  this  mineral,  even  when  finely  powdered, 
makes  it  unsuited  for  direct  application  to  soils,  and  the  com- 
mercial supply  is  limited,  owing  to  the  inaccessibility  of  its 
sources.  Its  conversion  into  superphosphate  of  lime  is  also 
attended  with  many  manufacturing  difficulties. 
.  Phosphorite. — This  substance  is  very  much  like  the  preceding. 
It  is  fibrous  in  structure,  a  light  yellow  color,  and  very  hard  ; 
generally  found  in  thick  beds,  surrounded  by  apatite  and 
quartz.  It  derives  its  name  from  becoming  phosphorescent 
when  heated ;  and  the  best  qualities  come  from  Spain  and 
Bavaria. 

The  supply  of  this  article  is  also  very  limited,  owing  to  diffi- 
culty in  mining. 

The  German,  French,  and  Prussian  phosphorites  are  also  in 
the  market — but,  as  a  general  rule,  the  percentage  of  bone 
phosphate  of  lime  is  too  low  to  make  them  an  economi-oal 
source  ot  supply,  the  percentage  of  sand  especially  being  so 
large. 

GoproUtes — True  coprolites  are  not  fossil  excrements,  but 
worn  and  rounded  fragments  of  fossil  bones.  They  are  chiefly 
found  in  England,  France,  and  Germany,  and,  to  a  small  extent, 
in  Canada.  They  contain  large  amounts  of  fluoride  of  calcium, 
carbonate  of  lime,  oxide  of  iron,  and  alumina.  They  do  not 
make  a  good  superphosphate,  and  are  not  as  good  for  this  pur- 
pose as  the  South  Carolina  phosphate.  Nevertheless,  in  Eng- 
land they  are  extensively  employed,  on  account  of  their  abun- 
dance and  cheapness. 

Bossa,  or  Guayamas  Guano. — This  is  a  very  superior  rock 
guano,  from  the  Island  of  Rossa,  in  the  Gulf  of  California, 

It  is  peculiar  in  that  it  contains  a  portion  of  its  phosphate  of 
lime  in  the  bi-calcic,  or  "  reduced,"  state,  and  is  almost  wholly 
free  from  foreign  constitueuts.  It  is  in  hard  lumps,  but  easily 
powdered. 


43 

Sombrero. — This  is  a  rock  guano,  \\hich  constitutes  the  entire 
structure  of  one  of  the  windward  Islands  in  the  Caribbean  Sea. 
It  is  somewhat  hard,  and  forms  a  light  yellow  powder  when 
ground.  It  is  not  near  so  available  for  a  superphosphate  as 
South  Carolina  phosphates.  Owing  to  the  large  amount  of 
oxide  of  iron,  there  is  a  great  waste  of  acid  in  the  manufac- 
ture ;  dangerous  compounds  are  formed,  such  as  copperas  and 
the  superphosphate  "  goes  back." 

Navassa  Guano. — This  comes  from  an  Island  off  the  coast  of 
Ilayti.  It  contains  a  large  amount  of  phosphate  of  lime,  but 
owing  to  the  abundance  of  iron  and  alumina,  its  conversion 
into  a  superphosphate  entails  a  large  waste  of  acid,  difficulty 
of  manufacture,  and  the  inevitable  "  going  back "  in  large 
quantities. 

Orchilla  Guano. — This  material  comes  from  an  island  in  the 
Caribbean  Sea.  It  is  a  damp,  fawn  colored  powder.  It  is  loose 
in  texture,  and  could  be  applied  directly  to  the  soil,  but  its  low 
percentage  of  phosphate  of  lime  renders  its  money  value  small, 
and  for  conversion  into  superphosphates,  the  large  amounts  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  iron  and  alumina,  renders  it  uneconomical. 

There  are  also  on  the  market  the  Phoenix  island,  Guanahaui, 
Eedonda,  St.  Martin's,  and  other  phosphatio  rock  guanos,  all  of 
which,  together  with  those  above  named,  are  inferior  in  fertili- 
zing properties  to  the  South  Carolina  phosphates. 

South  Carolina  Phosphates. — This  material  comes  from  the 
vicinity  of  the  Ashley  and  other  rivers  west  of  Charleston.  It 
is  ground  without  difficulty,  and  is  readily  soluble  in  acids.  Of 
all  the  mineral  phosphates  of  lime  which  are  available,  these 
are  best  suited  for  conversion  into  superphosphates. 

The  mining  and  manufacture  of  these  has  assumed  enormous 
dimensions,  some  $20,000,000  being  invested  and  the  works  for 
the  production  of  superphosphates  and  manipulated  fertilizers 
are  among  the  most  complete  and  well  arranged  in  the  world. 
The  combined  capacity  of  the  acid  chambers  is  about  800,000 
cubic  feet:  the  largest  single  chamber  being  that  of  the  Etiwan 
Company,  who  convert  one  hundred  tons  of  sulphur  per  month 
into  acid. 

They  also  manufacture  the  highest  grades  of  superphosphates 
on  the  market. 

We  here  give  a  table  of  the  analyses  of  these  different  Phos- 
phatic  Guanos : 


CO 

o 

a 


TJ1    :  ^ 

Tf 

CD 

CO 

■»t* 

•  -^ 

CO 

(•igjojv) 

00     •  cc  r- 

CO 

Ol 

O 

:  ^ 

c^ 

•ouisnf)  Bi[iqoa() 

O     ;  a.  CM 

, 

CO 

;>; 

r 

8 

(iS-iow) 

00     :  Oi  ro 

00  O  C^  O  C<J 
tr^  (M  CD  t^  O 

|§ 

•  o 

s 

•ouBn£) 

CO      :  rH  o 

CO  CO  '^  CO  rH 

«S  CD 

•^ 

:  '^ 

§ 

^ssBATi  Nj  JO  'aaijsdoof) 

'"' 

("iS-ioH) 

<M   :    cc 

OS 
00 

8 

o 

:g 

CO 

•a^j-Bqdsoq  J  'euiioa^Q 

s  •  ;^' 

00 

00 

CO 

:  CO 

q-^nog  JO  '8auo}8[j«j\[ 

:  ,_^_, 

. , — ■ — , 

^ 

(•q'^^^d^JeH) 

as      ;0      .COCD(M  —  O^OO 

CD 

;  CO 

O 

•^Iiojffng 

O       -.CO      :  ^  rH  O  r-;       ■    03 

CO 

:  "M 

oT 

's9;iyojdoo  9Sf«^>f 

»0      .  T-l      .                                      ^ 

^ 

: '"' 

Ci 

(•^«AV) 

oi    :t-r-oo    .t-oo-*»^o<-i 

3 

;  CO 
•  Oi 

00 
05 

•gSpijquiBO 

t^    :  CO  CO  '^t 

O   rH   !>J     05 

"^ 

:  CD 

C5 

's9ii|ojdoD  enjx 

, ^ 

05 

<©    :  -^  t— 

^lOCOOCO      Oi      CD      :(N 

:  00 

00 

(•^gjoj^) 

O      '  CO  05 

CDCir-'-iOO      -^      CO      .«3 

:  CO 

o 

•ounnf)  oagjtqcuog 

^  JO-^ 

00  <-l  00  1-1                       »0      :  CO 

8 

(•^yjoH) 

o    :  o 

r-       .  00 

s    g 

Si 

g 

•s9U9ng9^  juSng 

00    :  00 

00 

Oi^ 

Oi 

raOJJ    >tD«lff-9U0J| 

,-^^ — ' — 

(•)»J0H) 

CO     :  00  r- 

§ 

S       SJ 

g 

CO 

•tjougniy 

o    :o 

» 

C5 

o 

qanog  raojj  qsy-^uog 

t^    :  rH 

,-^^ 

o 

(•snia989J^) 

CO    :  'tf  CO  (M 

g^ 

00  (M 

O  CO 

CO 

:  00 

o 
o 

•/CuBraJ9f) 

■*    :  CO  i-H  o 

rH  CD 

oo 

(M 

:  "^ 

o 

raojj  giiJoqdsoqj 

\ 

o 

(•uo^sSo) 

QO       •  CO  CO  rH 

CO    :  (M  00  T-H 

g 

CN 

:  •^ 

.  CO 

•ni'Bdg 

s  I^"^ 

:(M 

05 

raojj  9iiJoqdsoqj 

,-^^ 

Oi 

(•J9510190A) 

^  i 

05    :  i-H    CO     op 

lO       .  CD       CO        0^ 

CC 

:  "^ 

.  CD 

CD 

•^«M 

o    : 

^-      irH-      rH-       § 

O 

1 

-jo^  raojj  9-^1  jBdy 

: 

o    : 

O  00 

■  o 

00 

.    (-^miH  -S  "X) 

CN    : 

CD  l>- 

:  '^ 

'Ttl 

•■BpBUBO  raojj  9^l!^Bdv 

Oi     1 

(ig-ioH) 

§§ 

O  »0  O     O      O     fM 

JNrHrH        CO        00        CO 

•:B 

CO 

•mujojn^Ojojinf) 

S2 

.  d  d  00          oi    CO 

:  CD 

Ci 
Oi 

aqi  uiojj  ouBnf)  bso^ 

^->-^         ,— ^ 

OS    : 

'i  i 

c    • 

be  : 

«    : 
a  : 

as 
>    C 

i'S 
:  3 

:j3 

I 

: 

ai 

^3    : 

: 

H 

ffi  2 

;  — 

"^ 

.R.^ 

:  oQ 

: 

W 

:  cR 

■ 

Iz; 

i;2 

•  -o 

:  ^ 

: 

o 

^^ 

:  o 

a 

: 

o 

O^  a 

anio 
um.. 
urn., 
imin 

n 

:  S 
:  3 

:  i- 

2  = 

:  cs 

o 

ii; 

1 

:  -i  -IS  a 
:  ♦?  oQ  'c 

)    :  _c. 

i 

It: 

I 

^5  * 

«Z!! 

)h 

;^ 

Is. 

<^ 

IX 

5 

r 

l(i 

\S. 

^ 

? 

•^ 

45 

Peruvian  Guano.  The  first  commercial  fertilizer  known  to 
the  people  of  the  South,  now  totally  exhausted,  came  from  the 
Chincha  Islands,  off  the  coast  of  Peru,  and  is  believed  to  have 
been  derived  from  the  excrement  of  the  fish  eating  bird,  known 
on  that  coast  as  the  Guano.  Owing  to  the  total  want  of  rain 
the  ammoniacal  and  other  valuable  salts  which  are  soluble,  were 
preserved.  Genuine  guano  was  exceedingly  light,  weighing 
only  sixty-eight  to  seventy-two  pounds  per  bushel. 
And  its  average  composition  was  about — 

Water  expelled  at  212° 12.42 

Organic  matter  and  ammoniacal  salts 52.98 

Yielding  ammonia 17  21 

Phosphate  Lime  and  Magnesia 25.06 

Alkaline  salts 8.26 

Insoluble  matter 1.50 


From  the  above  analysis  we  perceive  that  this  substance  was 
remarkably  rich  in  fertilizing  materials,  all  of  which  were  in  a 
readily  soluble  condition.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these 
deposits  are  totally  exhausted,  the  mining  having  extended 
down  to  the  rock,  so  that  the  last  shipments  made  contained 
over  thirty  per  cent,  of  rock. 

Other  localities  have  been  discovered  yielding  the  same  sub- 
stance, but  of  a  less  valuable  composition,  as  the  Guanape 
islands,  oft' the  coast  of  Ecuador,  were,  owing  to  the  heavy  dews 
and  occasional  rainfall,  the  ammoniacal  and  soluble  salts  are 
considerably  diminished  in  quantity.  While  it  may  be  obtained 
to  analyze  fourteen  per  cent  of  ammonia,  its  amount  of  soluble 
phosphoric  acid  is  small.  Nor  does  it  appear  to  compare  with 
the  Chincha  Island  Guano,  as  a  fertilizer,  at  all  relatively  to 
their  analysis. 

Lower  down  the  Coast  of  South  America,  off  Chili,  islands 
are  found  containing  quantities  of  guano  nearly  entirely  desti- 
tute of  ammoniacal  and  soluble  salts,  owing  to  the  frequent 
rains.  Quite  recently  another  deposit  has  been  discovered  on 
the  Falkland  Islands  and  off  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  of  the 
same  character. 

All  of  these  are  the  raw  materials  which  enter  into  the 
manufacture  qf  commercial  fertilizers. 

For  the  manufacture  of  superphosphates  alone  in  this  coun- 
try, the  South  Carolina  and  Navassa  phosphates  are  the  only  ones 
almost  exclusively  used.  The  source  of  ammonia  for  the  manip- 
ulated fertilizers  is  chiefly  a  material  called  Azotin,  which  is 
composed  of  the  dried  flesh  of  animals ;  dried  blood  is  also  a 
limited  supply.  In  these  materials  the  nitrogen  does  not  exist 
in  the  form  of  ammonia,  but  is  converted  into  that  compound 
by  decomposition. 

The  different  preparations  of  fish  which  are  found  on  the  mar- 


46 

ket  are  intended  to  supply  both  phosphoric  acid  and  ammonia, 
but  their  chief  value  is  for  a  supply  of  the  latter.  If  applied 
alone  to  the  soil,  it  benefits  those  crops  which  require  larger 
amounts  of  ammonia;  but  as  the  bones  of  the  fish  are  not  com- 
minuted or  finely  ground,  the  phosphoric  acid  contained  therein 
is  of  scarcely  any  use  to  growing  plants,  and  the  amount  re- 
quired for  the  crop  must  be  drawn  from  the  store  house  of  the 
soil. 

This  has  been  sought  to  be  remedied  by  treatment  with  sul- 
phuric acid  previous  to  manipulation,  but  as  the  bones  exist  as 
bones,  and  not  as  powder,  the  solvent  power  of  the  acid  is  mate- 
rially diminished. 

The  best  grade  of  this  material  is  what  is  known  as  fish 
scrap,  as  fish  guano  proper  is  nearly  all  water. 

Planters  are  often  of  the  opinion  that  a  bad  smell  arising 
from  a  fertilizer  is  a  test  of  its  manurial  value,  and  especially 
that  it  indicates  the  presence  of  ammonia.  This  is  entirely  a 
mistake;  the  smell  of  ammonia  is  that  of  hartshorn,  and  in  any 
fertilizer  in  which  the  ammonia  exists  as  free  carbonate  of 
ammonia,  this  smell  will  be  observed,  as  in  Gnanape  guano.  If, 
however,  the  ammonia,  is  combined  with  a  strong  acid,  no  smell 
of  hartshorn  will  be  perceived  as  in  the  true  Chincha  or  Peru- 
vian guano,  or  in  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

The  cause  of  the  bad  smell  is  not  exactly  ascertained,  but 
seems  to  be  due  to  the  presence  of  the  gases,  sulphuretted  and 
phosphoretted  hydrogen,  which  gases  are  combinations  of  sul- 
phur and  phosphorus  with  hydrogen.  The  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen is  familiar  as  the  odor  of  rotten  eggs. 

Sulphate  Ammonia  is  also  a  very  concentrated  supply  of  this 
material  for  crops.  It  is  chiefly  made  from  the  refuse  of  gas 
works  of  large  cities.  Coal,  from  which  gas  is  made,  was  origi- 
nally organic  matter — trees,  plants.  These  contained  nitrogen, 
and  when  subjected  to  heat,  in  a  closed  retort,  the  nitrogen 
combines  with  the  hydrogen  to  form  ammonia.  This,  together 
with  all  the  tarry  matters  of  the  coal  distils  over,  and  is  con- 
densed in  the  "hydraulic  main,"  which  is  a  necessary  process 
in  gas  making.  The  liquor  containing  most  of  the  ammoniacal 
salts  is  then  drained  off,  treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  evapo- 
rated until  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  crystalizes.  It  is  allowed 
to  cool,  and  is  drained.  The  supply  of  this,  howev^er,  is  limited, 
and  its  chief  use  is  for  the  cereal  crops,  to  which  it  is  better 
adapted  than  to  cotton. 

Nitrate  of  Soda. — Ammonia  has  generally  been  considered 
the  form  in  which  nitrogen  is  assimilated  by  crops,  but  nitrogen 
in  the  form  of  nitric  acid,  or  any  of  the  compounds  of  oxygen 
and  nitrogen,  gives  excellent  results,  so  that  nitrate  of  soda 
forms  one  of  the  most  regular  and  best  supplies  tor  nitrogen 
for  plants.  This  material  is  entirely  obtained  from  the  rainless 
desert  of  Atacama,  in  Peru.     It  there  exists  in  vast  beds,  and 


47 

is  mined,  refined,  and  exported  to  foreign  markets.  It  is  indis- 
pensable in  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  is  also  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder,  by  being  previously  turned 
into  nitrate  of  potash,  by  a  treatment  with  German  muriate  of 
potash.  It  absorbs  moisture,  and  so  cannot  be  used  alone  for 
gunpowder.  Its  chief  effect  appears  to  be  upon  grass  crops, 
but  the  difficulty  attending  its  use  is  that  it  more  readily 
leaches  out  of  soils  than  ammoniaeal  salts,  so  that  where  it  has 
been  applied  to  a  field,  it  is  almost  always  to  be  detected  in 
ditches,  draining  the  same. 

Nitrate  of  Potash. — This  material  is  a  valuable  source  of  both 
nitrogen  and  potash.  It  is  chiefly  imported  from  India,  and, 
on  account  of  its  price,  only  used  tor  gunpowder  or   medicine. 

Ammoniaeal  Plants. — Another  source  of  ammonia,  and  by  far 
the  least  expensive  to  the  farmer  to  supply  his  land  with,  will 
be  found  in  several  plants,  to  be  turned  under  as  green  crop. 
Amongst  these,  we  find  in  our  section  of  country  red  clover  and 
peas,  which  appear  to  absorb  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere, 
and,  by  some  process,  to  store  it  in  the  soil.  It  is  also  asserted 
by  an  eminent  chemist  that  some  species  of  grass,  weeds,  and 
especially  the  vetch,  accomplish  the  same  result. 

Potash. — The  supply  of  potash  in  the  commercial  fertilizers  is 
almost  entirely  derived  from  the  German  Stassfurt  salts.  Here 
it  is  found  in  beds  consisting  of  alternate  layers  of  common  salt 
and  the  salts  of  lime,  magnesia  and  potash.  It  was  evidently 
produced  by  the  drying  up  of  an  inland  sea.  It  has  to  be  m4ned 
and  refined,  when  different  grades  are  exported  to  foreign 
markets.  The  best  grade  exported  is  the  muriate,  containing 
from  forty-five  to  fifty  per  cent,  pure  potash.  Of  late  years  the 
unmanufactured  salt  has  been  largely  exported  and  highly 
praised,  but,  in  our  opinion,  a  large  amount  of  chloride  of  mag- 
nesium present  would  render  it  injurious  to  most  crops.  Many 
of  these  lower  grades  are  sold  under  the  name  of  Kainit. 

The  soils  which  are  first  exhausted  of  potash  are,  first,  sandy  ; 
second,  light  clay  ;  third,  marly  ;  fourth,  heavy  clay  and  allu- 
vial. 

Sulphate  Lime,  Gypsum,  or  Land  Plaster. — This  is  extensively 
applied  to  soils  as  a  manure,  and  is  also  found  largely  in  all 
high  grade  superphosphates,  or  dissolved  bone,  as  resulting  from 
the  process  of  their  manufacture.  Jt  really  seems  to  be  a  spe- 
cific for  a  clover  crop,  and  its  general  action  appears  to  be  its 
power  of  fixing  the  ammonia  contained  in  the  soil  and  atmos- 
phere. Jn  the  presence  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  a  double  de- 
composition ensues,  resulting  in  the  formation  of  su] 
ammonia  and  carbonate  of  lime.  This  substam 
burned,  makes  plaster  of  Paris.  ^^ 


48 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  iMANUFACTURE  OF  CCMMEROIAL  FERTILIZERS. 

Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  Sulphuric  Acid  and  Super- 
phosphate Company,  it  was  maintained  that  the  manufacture 
of  Sulphuric  Acid  was  impracticable  in  the  latitude  of  Charles- 
ton, S.  C. ;  but  the  projectors  of  this  Company,  appreciating  the 
great  advantage  ot  manufacturing  the  acid  near  to  the  raw 
material,  and  seeing  no  scientific  reason  why  it  could  not  be 
done,  applied  for  a  charter  under  the  above  name  on  May  26th, 
1868. 

In  selecting  a  site  for  their  works  the  greatest  pains  were 
taken,  and  the  most  advantageous  locations  in  South  Carolina 
and  the  adjoining  States  were  carefully  considered.  After  ma- 
ture deliberation,  a  point  on  the  east  of  Charleston  Neck,  about 
four  miles  from  the  city,  and  lying  on  "  Town  Creek,"  a  branch 
of  Cooper  River,  was  selected.  This  spot  was  where  the  '*  John 
Adams,"  the  first  frigate  of  the  United  States,  was  built,  and 
where  subsequently  was  the  Confederate  Navy  shipyard.  The 
Creek  is  bold  and  deep,  affording  excellent  harborage,  and  of 
depth  sufficient  to  allow  any  ship  to  come  to  the  Company's 
wharf  which  shall  cross  Charleston  Bar. 

At  this  spot,  on  the  21st  August,  1868,  work  was  begun  ; 
and  on  December  the  8th,  of  the  same  year,  the  first  Sulphuric 
Acid  was  manufactured  south  of  Baltimore, 

The  manufacture  of  fertilizers  is  by  no  means  so  easy  a  thing 
as  some  suppose,  and  the  difficulties  increase  as  the  grade  rises, 
in  more  than  a  geometrical  ratio.  This  Company  started  out 
with  the  determination  to  make  the  highest  grade  of 'Soluble 
Phosphoric  Acid  possible  for  the  South  Carolina  Phosphates; 
and  after  meeting  and  surmounting  innumerable  obstacles,  both 
seen  and  unforseen,  turned  out  the  highest  grade  fertilizer  ever 
manufactured  in  America.  The  good  done  the  country  by  this 
action  is  incalculable,  for  since  that  time  the  grade  of  all  fertil- 
izers manufactured  in  the  United  States  has  steadily  improved, 
and  to-day  the  farmers  and  planters  of  America  have  offered 
them  commercial  fertilizers  not  excelled  by  any  made  either  in 
England  or  on  the  Continent. 

'The process  of  manufacuure  may  be  divided  into  four  heads  : 

1st.    The  Manufacture  of  Sulphuric  Acid. 

2d.  The  Drying  and  Grinding  of  the  Eock. 

3d.  The  Mixing. 

4th.  The  Disintegrating  and  Screening. 

The  iVJanufacture  of  Sulphuric  Acid  ; 

Sulphuric  Acid  is  a  solid  dissolved  in  a  variable  quantity  of 
water,  and  consists  of  sulphur  and  oxygen,  so  that  the  object  in 


49 

the  manufacture  of  Sulphuric  Acid  is  to  make  the  oxygen  of 
the  atmosphere  combine  with  sulphur  in  the  presence  of  suffi- 
cient water  to  give  it  the  required  strength. 

If  sulphur  be  burnt  in  the  open  air,  it  combines  with  two- 
thirds  of  the  oxygen  necessary  to  make  Sulphuric  Acid,  and  is 
called  Sulphurous  Acid  ;  the  last  third  cannot  be  made  to  com- 
bine directly  from  the  atmosphere,  and  so  means  have  been  de- 
vised by  which  it  may  be  made  to  do  indirectly  ;  these  are  the 
introduction  of  Nitric  Acid  vapor  into  a  mixture  of  Sulphurous 
Acid  and  atmospheric  air  and  steam  ;  the  Nitric  Acid  parts 
with  some  of  its  oxygen  to  the  Sulphurous  Acid,  which,  becom- 
ing Sulphuric  Acid,  dissolves  in  the  steam  and  falls  as  a  rain, 
while  tl^e  Nitric  Acid  takes  b^ck  from  the  atmosphere  the 
oxygien  which  it  had  lost,  to  give  it  again  to  another  portion  of 
Sulphurious  Acid,  thus  acting  as  a  carrier  of  oxygen  between 
the  two. 

All  these  conditions  are  ensured  in  the  construction  and  man- 
agement of  the  Sulphuric  Acid  "  chambers,"  as  they  are  called. 
These  chambers  are  vast  rooms,  whose  sides,  top  and  bottom, 
are  composed  of  sheet  lead,  and  all  along  on  the  outside  run 
steam  pipes  for  the  admission  of  steam  into  the  interior;  ante- 
terior  to  the  chambers  is  the  furnace  in  which  the  sulphur  is 
burnt  and  the  Nitric  Acid  evolved. 

This  Company  has  two  sets  of  chambers,  of  an  aggregate 
capacity  of  180,000  cubic  feet,  and  their  consumption  ot  sulphur 
per  day  of  twenty-four  hours  is  7,200  lbs.  The  set  last  erected 
contains  the  largest  single  chamber  in  the  United  States,  having 
the  following  dimensions:  140  feet  x  30  x  25  ;  while  the  furnace 
of  cast-iron  is  the  only  one  in  America,  and  the  largest  i»  the 
world.  They  have  also  attached  to  their  chambers  the  con- 
densers of  Gay  Lussac,  thus  reducing  their  consumption  of 
Nitre  from  10  per  cent,  to  4  per  cent.,  and  their  production  is 
from  280  to  285  lbs.  of  Monohydrated  Sulphuric  Acid  to  the 
hundred  pounds  of  sulphur  consumed. 

Drying  and  Grinding. — The  rock,  as  it  comes  from  the  washers 
of  the  miners  is  loaded  on  sloops,  schooners  and  flats,  and  trans- 
ported to  the  wharf  of  the  Company,  where  it  is  discharged  by 
a  derrick,  which  is  driven  by  a  wire  rope  320  feet  from  the  en- 
gines. A  shed  200  feet  long,  paved  with  brick  and  supported 
by  iron  pillars,  extends  backwards  from  the  wharf.  On  this 
brick  pavement  is  laid  two  rows  of  pine  wood  ;  overhead  is  a 
railroad,  on  which*  run  the  cars  into  which  the  rock  is  dis- 
charged, and  from  which  it  is  dumped  upon  the  wood  beneath. 
When  the  cargo  has  been  thus  discharged,  the  wood  is  set  fire 
to  and  the  ''  kiln  "  burns  and  is  dried;  by  the  well  considered 
arrangements  of  this  Company,  the  consumption  of  wood  is 
reduced  to  one  cord  of  wood  to  forty  tons  of  rock,  thus  obvi- 
ating some  of  the  damage  done  by  too  much  heat,  while  iho 
rock  is  still  thoroughly  dried. 
4 


50 

The  dried  rock  is  loaded  into  cars,  which  is  then  hoisted  up 
an  inclined  plane  into  the  mill,  and  dumped  by  the  crushers. 
These  are  three  in  number,  made  of  iron,  by  Baugh  &  Sons,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  are  mounted  on  heavy  frames,  independent 
of  the  mill  building ;  they  are  driven  by  belts  from  the  main 
shaft,  and  run  at  a  speed  of  450  revolutions  per  minute ;  a  man 
feeds  these  crushers  with  the  dried  rocik,  which  passing  though 
crushed,  is  picked  up  by  elevators  and  delivered  into  the  hop- 
pers of  the  mill-stones. 

Of  these  mill-stones  there  are  six  pair;  they  are  of  the  best 
French  buhr  stone,  and  are  driven  by  the  crank  shaft  of  one 
engine;  they  are  four  feet  in  diameter  and  are  make  170  revo- 
lutions per  minute.  The  amount  ground  depends  entirely  upon 
the  degree  of  fineness  to  which  it  is  ground ;  in  this  mill  the 
rock  is  ground  so  that  all  will  pass  through  a  screen  of  80  wires 
to  the  inch,  and  the  product  is  about  3  tons  per  pair  of  stones 
per  day  of  10  hours.  After  passing  through  the  stones  the 
powdered  rock  is  received  into  elevators  which  deliver  it  into 
a  box  through  which  it  is  screwed  from  the  mill  house  into  the 
mixing  house  at  an  elevation  of  about  30  feet,  and  there  is  de- 
livered, not  having  been  touched  by  hand  since  it  was  fed  as 
crude  rock  to  the  crusher. 

The  mixing  is  done  in  a  tub  of  cast  iron  8  feet  in  diameter, 
which  revolves  20  times  per  minute,  and  in  which  are  small 
ploughs,  which  revolve  160  times  per  minute.  Into  this  tub  a 
weighed  quantity  of  the  powdered  rock  is  thrown  by  simply 
overturning  a  large  scoop,  which  hangs  from  a  steelyard,  the 
scoop  and  steelyard  being  suspended  from  a  frame  which 
runs  -on  a  trainway  from  the  pile  of  ground  rock  to  the 
mixing  tub;  a  known  weight  of  acid  is  now  run  in  and  the 
revolving  ploughs  thoroughly  incorporate  the  phosphate  and 
the  acid.  When  a  certain  time  has  passed,  an  iron  plug, 
which  stops  up  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  the  tub,  is  raised  and 
the  mixed  mass,  either  in  a  semi-fluid  or  dry  condition, 
depending  on  the  amount  of  acid  added,  falls  through  into  a 
space  below.  The  amount  of  acid  which  is  mixed  with  the 
phosphate  depends  upon  the  grade  of  solubility  desired,  the 
higher  the  percentage  of  Soluble  Phosphoric  Acid  wanted  the 
larger  the  amount  of  acid  to  be  added,  and  here  is  the  chief  diffi- 
culty in  the  manufacture,  for  the  higher  the  grade  the  more 
pasty  is  the  mass,  and,  therefore,  the  more  difficult  is  the  after 
manipulation  ;  up  to  5  per  cent,  of  Soluble  Phosphoric  Acid  the 
mass  comes  from  the  mixing  tub  dry,  and  can  be  screened  at 
once  and  packed  in  sacks;  but  when  enough  acid  is  added  to 
render  11,  12,  and  13  per  cent,  soluble,  the  mass  comes  from 
the  mixing  tub  a  semi-fluid  and  will  flow  like  mud  30  or  40  feet, 
and  must  be  left  for  a  time  varying,  from  two  weeks  to  two 
months,  to  harden  before  it  can  be  handled  ;  the  intermediate 
grades  also  of  6,  7,  and  8  per  cent.,  when  left,  harden  into  a  rock 


51 

as  8olid  as  limestone,  and  have  to  be  disintegrated  in  a  powerful 
machine.  Tnese  difficulties  have  all  been  overcome  by  this 
Company,  and  they  are  now  able  to  ship  13  per  cent,  of  Soluble 
Phosphoric  Acid  in  three  days  from  the  time  of  the  order;  this 
is  called  by  them  theEtiwan  Dissolved' Bone;  they  also  manufac- 
ture an  ammoniated  fertilizer,  called  the  Etiwan,  by  adding  to 
the  mass  in  the  mixinoj  tub  the  proper  quantities  of  Peruvian 
Guano,  Ammoniacal  Matter,  and  German  Potash  Salts ;  they 
also  employ  a  Chemist  to  analyze  all  material  received,  prescribe 
all  formulas,  and  to  analyze  the  fertilizers  when  ready  for  mar- 
ket; every  ingredient  is  most  carefully  weighed  and  the 
results  scientifically  scrutinized.  Their  laboratory  is  among  the 
most  complete  in  the  South,  and  as  a  fertilizer  company  they 
rank  among  the  foremost  in  the  world. 

Tke  disintegrating  and  screening  is  the  last  process  in  the  manu- 
facture; the  mass  from  the  mixing  tub,  after  standing  for  a 
time,  is  mined  out  and  loaded  in  cars,  which  are  elevated  to  a 
machine  called  the  disintegrator;  of  these  there  are  two — one 
imported  from  England,  and  the  other  made  in  Baltimore ;  this 
machine  consists  of  two  wheels,  one  within  the  other,  and 
revolving  vertically  in  opposite  directions.  The  stuff  is  fed  in 
at  the  centre,  dashed  to  pieces  by  the  bars  at  the  periphery, 
and  falling  through  these  is  received  in  a  revolving  screen, 
after  passing  through  which  it  is  ready  for  market. 

The  power  of  driving  all  this  machinery  consists  of  two 
80  and  100  horse  power  respectively,  the  former  being  made  In 
Connecticut  and  the  latter  in  Charleston.  There  is  a  set  of 
boilers  for  each  engine,  and  also  another  single  one  to  generate 
steam  for  the  chambers ;  but  the  steam  pipes  are  so  arranged 
that  any  engine  can  be  run  from  any  boiler.  Of  donkey  water 
pumps  there  are  three — one  small  one  to  supply  the  boilers ; 
one  of  450  gallons  a  minute  capacity,  which  supplies  a  tank  Qo 
feet  high,  from  which  water  pipes  are  distributed  all  over  the 
works ;  and  one  of  1,200  gallons  a  minute  capacity  for  fire 
insurance.  There  is  also  a  donkey  air  pump  which  pumps  air 
into  a  boiler  in  which  it  is  retaiped  under  a  pressure  of  50 
pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and  from  which  it  is  drawn  for  the 
purpose  of  forcing  the  acid  up  to  the  mixing  tub  and  condensing 
towers.  There  are  also,  five  heaters  through  which  passes  the 
escape  stream  from  the  engines  and  which  heats  the  feed  water 
to  200°  Fahr.,  thus  saving  much  fuel. 

The  Works  are  also  connected  with  the  South  Carolina  and 
Northeastern  Eailroads  by  a  track  laid  down  by  the  Company, 
so  that  they  ship  directly  from  their  Works  to  any  point  in  the 
interior. 

To  the  east  of  the  Works,  on  a  point  commanding  a  most 
beautiful  view  of  the  harbor  and  sea,  are  four  dwelling  houses, 
in  which  live  the  families  of  seven  of  the  white  employees  of 
the  Company,  including  the  Superintendent,  Engineer,  and  sul- 


52 

phur  burners,  so  that  at  all  times  the  property  of  the  Company 
is  protected  by  the  presence  of  a  lar^e  number  of  intelligent 
and  efficient  men  ;  the  roofing  of  the  difiPerent  buildings  covers  an 
acre  and  a  half  of  ground,  and  the  total  horse-power  of  all  the 
engines  is  320. 

The  only  dangerous  material  used  is  the  N'itrate  of  Soda, 
which  is  the  source  of  the  Nitric  Acid,  used  in  the  chambers; 
and  this  is  stored  in  a  fire-proof  brick  magazine. 

The  capacity  of  these  Works,  for  the  high  grade  which  they 
make,  is  850  tons  per  month  of  the  Btiwan  Dissolved  Bone,  and 
1,000  tons  per  naonth  of  their  ammoniated  fertilizer,  the  Eti- 
wan. 


APPENDIX. 


TABLE  I. 

Composition  of  the  Ash  of  Agricultural  Plants  and  Products,  giving  the 
average  of  all  trustworthy  Analyses  published  up  to  August,  1865,  by  Professor 
Emil  Wolff,  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Agriculture,  at  Hohenheim,  Wirtem- 
burg.* 


Substance. 


•<! 

s 

"^ 

^ 

■^ 

~5^ 

^ 

-^ 

■^ 

"^ 

•S 

■c 

.vj 

^ 

^ 

1 

1 

1 

::5 

1 

2 

CO 

I.— MEADOW 

Meadow  hay 113 

Young    grass |    I 

Dead  ripe  hay j    i 

4JRye  grass  in  flower 

Timothy 

Other  sweet  grasses  

Oats  heading  out  , 

"    in  flower.... 

Barley  heading  out 

"      in  flower 

Winter  wheat  heading  out.... 

"  "       in  flower 

Winter  rye  heading  out 

Green  cereals,  light 

"  "        heavy 

Hungarian  millet,  green  [pan 

icum  germ) 


HAY  AND  GRASSES. 


7.78125, 
9  32I56 


7-73 
7.10 
7.01 
7.27 
9.46 
7.23 

8-93 

7.04 

9-73 
6.99 

5.42 
7.20 
9.21 


7.^3  37-4 


7.0 
1.8 
2.9 
4.2 
2.7 
1.8 
4.4 
3  3 
1-7 
0.6 

1-9 

0.5 

0-3 
i-S 

3-4 


4.9 

II. 6 

6.2 

5.1 

2.8 

10.7 

10.5 

4.0 

3-4 

12.9 

44 

0.7 

2.1 

7.5 

7.8 

3.8 

3-7 

94 

10.8 

3-9 

2.6 

5-5 

7.8]  4.4 

3-5 

7.0 

8.3I   3-4 

3-2 

6.7 

8.3 

2.7 

29 

7.0 

10. 1 

29 

31 

6.0 

9.8 

2.9 

1-5 

4.9 

7-4 

2.8 

2.2 

3.1 

7-3 

1.9 

31 

7-4 

147 

1.6 

3-9 

6.6 

9  I 

4-1 

4-7 

«.3 

8.1 

4.8 

8.0 

5-4 

5-4 

3.6 

29.6 
10.3 
63.1 

39.6 
35.6 

37-6 
27.9 

33-2 
31.2 
48.0 
41.9 
56.8 
32.0 

41.4 
30.0 


II.— CLOVER  AND  FODDER   PLANTS. 


Red 


clover 

a.  I  ',-25  per  cent,  potash 

b.  25-35   "        "  " 

c.  35-50   '*        '<  " 

White  clover 

Lucerne , 

Esparsette  


21  Swedish  clover 


56 

6 

72 

34-5 

1.6 

12,2 

34-0 

15 

6 

01 

20.8 

1.9 

18.2 

39-7 

23 

6 

74 

29.8 

1.6 

II. 8 

35.6 

18 

7 

19 

46  3 

I  4 

7.8 

27-3 

2 

7 

16 

17.5 

7.8 

lO.O 

32.2 

7 

7 

14 

25-3 

I.I 

5-8 

48.0 

2 

5 

39i39-4 

1.7 

5.8 

32.2 

2 

5 

53 

33« 

1.5 

15-3 

319 

9.9 

9  4 
10.6 

9.2 
14. 1 

8.5 
10.4 
10. 1 


3.0 

2.7 

3.8 

1.2 

30 

2.7 

2.2 

a.S 

8.8 

4.5 

6.1 

2.0 

3-3 

40 

4.0 

1.2 

8.0 

2.0 
5-7 
5-4 
5-0 
41 
4.4 
4.0 
5.6 
3-5 
5.3 
2.8 


4.3 
5.6 

6.4 


3  7 
5-4 
2.9 

3-2 
3-2 
1.9 

3-0 
2.8 


*From  Prof.  Wolff's  Mittlere  Ztisammenset-zung  der  Asche,  aller  land  und  forst- 
ivirthschaftlichen  ivicktigen  Stoffe,  Stuttgart,  1865.  The  above  table  being  more  com- 
plete, and  In  most  particulars  more  exact  than  the  author's  means  of  reference  enable  him 
to  construct,  and  being  moreover  likely  to  be  the  basis  of  calculations  by  agricultural 
chemists  abroad  for  some  years  to  come,  has  been  reproduced  here  literally.  The  ref- 
erences and  important  explanations  accompanying  the  original,  want  of  space  precludes 
quoting.  In  the  table,  oxide  of  iron,  an  ingredient  normally  present  to  the  extent  of 
less  than  one  per  cent.,  is  omitted.  Chlorine  is  often  omitted,  not  because  absent  from 
the  plant,  but  from  uncertainty  as  to  its  amount.  Carbonic  acid  is  also  excluded  in  all 
cases,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity  and  facility  of  comparison. 


54 


Composition  of  the  Ash  of  Agricultural  Plants  and  Products. 


Substance. 


^• 

■^" 

^ 

^ 

>3 

? 

% 

^ 

\ 

'^ 

S 

.^ 

"^ 

Q 

5 

1 

1 

1 
1 

^ 
-$-' 

^ 

2 

II.— CLOVER  AND  FODDER  PLANTS. 


Anthyllh  'vulneraria. 

Green  vetches 

Green  pea  in  flower  . 
Green  rape,  young  ... 


I 

5.60 

10  3     4.5 

2 

8.74 

42.1     2  9 

I 

7.40 

40.8     0.2 

5 

897 

32.3     38 

4  6168.9 
6.8126.3 

8.2  28.7 

4.5  23.1 


7.0 

1.6 

z  9 

128 

3-7 

1.8 

132 

3  5 

2.6 

8.7 

16.3 

3-i 

III.— ROOT  CROPS. 


Potatoes 

Artichokes 

Beets 

Sugar  Beets 

Turnips 

Turnips* 

Ruta-bagas 

Carrots 

Chickory 

Sugar  beet-headsf . 


31 

3-74 

59.8 

1.6 

4-5 

2.3 

19.1 

6.6 

2  3 

I 

5  16 

65.4 

2.7 

3  5 

16.0 

3-2 



»5 

6.86 

53-1 

14.8 

5^ 

4.6 

9.6 

3-3 

3-3 

44    4-35 

49-4 

9.6 

8.9 

6.3 

H-3 

4-7 

3-5 

15    8.28 

39-3 

II  4 

3-9 

10.4 

13.3 

H3 

2.4 

2 

7.20 

50.6 

3.8 

2.1 

134 

17.4 

60 

I.I 

2 

7.68 

51.2 

6.7 

2.6 

9.7 

15-3 

8.4 

0.5 

10 

6.27 

36.7 

22  1 

5-3 

10.7 

12.5 

64 

2.0 

7 

5.21 

404 

7.7  1   6.3 

8.7 

14.5 

9.2 

6.1 

I 

403 

29.6 

24.4 

III.O 

9  » 

12.8 

7.6 

2.0 

IV.— LEAVES  AND  STEMS  OF  ROOT  CROPS. 


Potatoes,  August.., 
"       October. 

Beets 

Sugar  Beets 

Turnips , 

Kohl-rabi 

Carrots 

Chickory 

Cabbage 

Cabbage  stalk 


3 

8.92 

145 

2.7 

16.8 

390 

6.1 

56 

I 

5.12 

6.3 

0.8 

22.6 

46.2 

55 

5  5 

6 

1596 

29.1 

21.0 

9-7 

II. 4 

51 

74 

7 

17.49 

22.1 

16.8I18.3 

19.7 

7.4 

8.0 

16 

13.68 

22.9 

7.8 

4-5 

32.4 

8.9 

9.9 

I 

16.87 

14.4 

3  9 

40 

33-3 

10.4 

II. 7 

7 

13-57 

14. 1 

23.1 

4.6 

33.0 

4-7 

7-9 

I 

1246 

60.0 

0.7 

32 

14.3 

9.0 

90 

2 

10.81 

48.6 

3-9 

3-3 

15-3 

15.8 

8.5 

I 

6.46 

43  9 

5  5 

41 

II-3 

20  9 

11.8 

8.0 
4.2 

4.8 

3^ 

3.8 

10  5    3 
5.61  7, 

I  o      I, 

i.il   I. 


REFUSE  AND  MANUFACTURED  PRODUCTS 


Sugar  beet  cake 

a.  Common  cake 

b.  Residue  of  maceration 

c.  Residue    from     Centrifugal 

machine 

Beet  molasses 

Molasses  slumj 

Raw  beet  sugar 


Potatoe  fiber|| 

Potatoe  juice^ 

53lPotatoe  skii)s| 

54lFine  wheat  flour |    i 


Rye  flour 

Barley  flour.... 
Barley  dust**. 
Maize  meal.... 


7 

315 

2 

3-03 

2 

3-53 

I 

3" 

3 

11.28 

I 

19.02 

I 

I  43 

I 

II. 10 

4 

0.99 

2 

23-45 

3 

9  59 

I 

0.47 

I 

1.97 

I 

2-33 

I 

5.62 

36.6 

8.4 

5.6 

25-3 

25.0 

12.7 

27.2 

35-3 

9-4 

II. 8 

27.9 

455 

9.8 

25  3 

71. 1 

10.  s 

0.4 

6.0 

89.8 

0.9 



33-3 

28.0 



8-5 

46.3 

6.6 

8.8 

6.2 

15.6 

7.6 

47.8 

69  5 

3-5 

I.O 

72.0 

0.7 

6.7 

9.6 

36.0 

0.9 

8.2 

2.8 

■38.4 

1.8 

8.0 

1.0 

28.8 

2-5 

13-5 

2.8 

18.9J   1.4 

7-7 

25 

28.8 

3-5 

14.9 

6.3 

10.2 

12.9 

6.0 

13.0 

05 
0.1 

20.0 

23  9 
16.3 

3-4 

52.0 

48.3 
47-3 
28.9 

45-0 

3-9 
5-8 

2-3 

65 
2.1 

1-7 
229 

7-3 

"3'.6 
0.4 

6.2 

0.7 

0.9 
3-4 
31 

0.1 

2.7 

48 

13.0 

09 

lO.I 

1.6 
5.8 
2  I 
1-3 

7-5 
2  I 

3  1 

20.0 



*  White  turnips  in  the  original,  but  apparently  no  special  kind,  f  Probably  the 
crowns  of  tht  roots,  removed  in  sugar  making.  J  The  residue  after  fermenting  and 
distilling  oflF  the  spirit  ||  Refuse  of  starch  manufacture.  ^  Undiluted.  ^  from  boiled 
potatoes.     **  Refuse  in  making  barley  grits. 


55 


Composition  of  the  Ash  of  Agricultural  Plants  and  Products. 


Substance, 


V 

^ 

«' 

"C 

4 
=§ 

Q* 

^ 

s 

59 
6o 
6i 

62 

63 

64 

65 
66 
67 

68 
69 

70 

71 
72 

73 
74 

75 
76 

77 
78 

79 
80 
81 
82 

83 
84 

85 
86 

87 

88 
89 
90 
91 
92 

93 

94 
95 
96 

97 
98 
99 

100 

lOI 

102 
103 
104 


V. -REFUSE 

Millet  meal 

Buckwheat  grits 

Wheat  bran 

Rye  bran 

Brewer's  grains , 

Malt 

Malt  sprouts 

Wine  grounds , 

Grape  skins , 

Beer 

Grape  must 

Rape  cake 

Linseed  cake 

Poppy  cake 

Walnut  cake 

Cotton  seed  cake 


AND  MANUFACTURED  PRODUCTS. 


I  35 
o  72 
6.43 
8.22 

5-17 
2.78 
6.56 
4.60 
404 


6.59 

6.24 

10  60 


19  7 
25.4 
24.0 
27  o 

42 
J73 
34-9 
53-4 
49-4 
37  5 
62.8 

24  3 
23-3 

20  8 


2-3 
5  9 
0.6 

1-3 
0.8 


5  36  33-1 

6-95I35  4 

VI.— STRAW. 


0.5 
2.2 
7.8 
09 
0.1 
1-4 
45 


25.8 
12.9 
16.8 
15.8 
10. 1 


2-3 

4-7 

3-5 

[I  6 


1-5 
'5-5 

■3  o 
2.2 

4-9 
[0.9 
8.6 


Winter  wheat 

Winter  rye 

Winter  spelt... 
Summer  rye... 

Barley 

Oats .. 

Maize , 

Peas 

Field  bean 

Garden  bean.., 
Buckwheat...., 
Rape 

Poppy 


4.96 

481 

5.56 

5-55 

5.10 

5.12 

549 

5-74 

7.12 

6.06 

6.1s 

458 

7.86 

11.5 

18.7 

II. 2 

23  4 
21.6 

22.0 

35-3 
21.8 

44-4 
37.1 
46.6 
25.6 
38.0 


2.9 

3-3 
0.4 

45 
5-3 
1.2 

5  3 
38 
6.0 

2.2 

10.3 
1-3 

Wheat 

Spelt.... , 

Barley 

Oats 

Maize  cobs , 

Flax  seed  hulls. 


VII.— CHAFF,  ETC. 


1-4 
3.2 
6.1 

4  9 
5.6 

"5 

15.91  » 
4. 3  28. 1 

12  2,   6.7 
4.3  I  46 


2.6 

S-i 

0.9 
2  8 
2.4 
4.0 
5-5 
7-7 
7.8 
5.2 
3.6 

5-7 
6.5 


47-3 
48.1 
51.8 

47-9 
38.0 
36.5 
21  o 

15-5 
20.  g 

3^7 
17.7 

36.9 

35-2 
37-8 
43.8 
48.3 


2.7 

1-7 

I.I 

1.6 

0.8 

■'6:3 

7.8 
4-4 

3-3 
3-4 
2  0 
1.2 
I  I 



32.2 

33-2 
29  5 

3-5 
10  2 

'•3 
8.7 
6.5 
48 
I  6 
4.0 



0-5 
0.6 

06 
0  2 
0.6 

0  2 

6.2 

5-4 

2.9 

7.7 

4-7 

1.9 

4.8 

6.3 

18 

8.9 

6-5 

2.6 

Z' 

4-3 

3-7 

8.2 

4.2 

3-5 

10.5 

8.1 

5.2 

37  9 

7.8 

5  6 

23.1 

7.0 

0.2 

27.4 

7.8 

3.6 

18.4 

11.9 

5-3 

26.5 

7.0 

7  1 

30.2 

3-5 

5.1 

66.3 

581 

71-4 
55-9 
53.8 

48.7 
38  o 

5-7 
5-4 
4-7 
5-5 
6.7 
II. 4 


1 

10.73 

9.1 

1.8 

1.3 

I  9 

4-3 

81.2 

2 

9  50 

9-5 

o-3|  2-5 

2.4    7.3I  2  3 

74.2 

I 

14-23 

7.7 

0.9    1.3 

10.4 

2.0    30I70.8 

I 

9.22 

131 

4.8 

2.6    8.9 

0-3 

2.5  599 

I 

0  56 

47.1 

1.2 

4-il  3  4 

44 

1.9  264 

I 

6.62 

3I-I 

4  3 

28 

I29.6 

2.8 

4.8 

I7.2| 

VIII.— TEXTILE  PLANTS,  ETC. 


Flax  straw 

Rotted  flax  stems  . 

Flax  fibre 

Entire  flax  plant... 
Entire  hemp  plant. 
Entire  hop  plant... 

Hops  

Tobacco 


8 

3  71 

36  9 

51 

7.1 

22.3 

"•5 

2 

2.40 

9.0 

4.8 

5.4 

51-4 

5-9 

3 

0.67 

3-3 

3-2 

5-4 

63.6 

10.8 

2 

4-3° 

34-2 

4.8 

9.0 

M-5 

23.0 

2 

4.60 

18.3 

3.2 

9.6 

43.4 

11.6 

I 

9.87 

26.2 

3.8 

5.8 

16.0 

1 2. 1 

12 

6.80 

37-3 

2.2 

5-5 

16.9 

15.1 

7 

24.08 

27.4 

3-7 

10.5 

37.0 

3.<' 

IX. 


Heath ,   8 

^r 00m  [Spar tium).,., 2 

Fern  {^Aspidium) |    5 


-LITTER. 

4-51   13.^!    5.3 
36.51   2.5 

42.8  I   4.5 


2.25 
7.01 


18.4 

17.8 

12.4 

I7.I 

7.7 

14.0 

5.1! 

8.6 
9-7 


31  6.0 
1I13.8 
71  6.2 
9  ^.6 
81  7.6 
421.5 

15-4 
9.6 


35.2 

10.3 

6.1 


6  I 

13.8 
5-2 
7-7 

[24 

2-5 


61 


4.0 


0.4 
5-9 
2.5 
4.6 
3-4 
4.5 

2.1 

2.7 
10.2 


56 


Composition  ok  the  Ash  of  Agricultural  Plants  and   Products. 


Subs 


?3 

S 

■^ 

^ 
^ 

«* 

1 

1 

1 

i:5 

1 

ft* 

1 

IX— LITTER. 


105 
106 
107 
108 
109 
no 
III 
112 

"3 
114 

"5 

116 
117 
118 
118 

120 
121 

122 
123 

124 
125 
126 
127 
128 
129 
130 

132 
133 
134 
135 
136 

137 
138 
139 
140 
141 
142 

144 

145 
146 

147 
148 
149 

150 

151 

152 


Scouring   rush  {Equisetum)... 

Sea  weed    [Fucus) 

Beech  leaves  in  autumn 

Oak  "  •'      

Fir  *'   [Pinus  sylvestris) 

Red  pine  leaves  (Pinus  Picea.) 
Reed  [Arundo  phrag. ).,  \ria  \ 
Down   Grass   [Psamma  area- 

Sedge,  (Carex) 

Rush   [yuncus) 

Bulrush  [Scirpus] 

X.— GRAINS  AND  SEEDS 
Wheat I78 


2 

23-77 

13.2 

0-5 

2.3 

12.5 

2.0 

6.3 

8 

H-39 

H-5 

24,0 

9-5 

^39 

3.1 

240 

6 

675 

5  2 

0.6 

6.0 

44  9 

4.2 

3  7j 

4.90 

3-5 

0.6 

4.0 

4«.6 

8.1 

4.4 

I 

1.40 

10. 1 



99 

41.4 

ib.4 

44 

S.82 

i.S 



2.3 

15.2 

8.2 

2.8 

4.69 

8.6 

0.2 

1.2 

5-9 

2.C 

2.8 

..  .  . 

29  8 

40 

3.« 

165 

7.2 

36 

II 

8.08 

33.2    7.3 

4.2 

5-3 

6.7 

3-3 

s  30 

36.6    6.6 

64 

9  S 

6.4 

■87 

2 

8.65 

97 

110.3 

3-° 

7.2 

6.5 

5.6 

OF  AGRICULTURAL   PLANTS. 


Rye 

Barley 

Oats .  . 

Spelt  with  husk  .. 

Maize. 

Rice  with  husk  .. 

"     husked 

Millet  with  husk, 

•'       husked 

Sorghum 

Buckwheat 

Rape       seed 

Flax  "   

Hemp       "    

Poppy        "    

Madia       "    

Mustard   "   

Beet  *'   

Turnip      *'   

Carrot       »'    

Peas  '<   

Vetches 

Field  Beans 

Garden  '• 

Lentils 

Lupines 

Clover  seed 

Esparsette  seed 


071  31. 1 
03|30-9 
55|2i  9 
07I15.9 
20  17.3 


,50 


40 


27.0 
18.4 

23  3 
II  9 
18.9 
20,3 
23  I 
^3-5 
32.3 
20.1 
13.6 

9-5 
15.9 

187 

21-9 

19.1 

40.4 
30  6 


45  40.5 
06  44.1 
06127.8 
•••J33-5 
,11-37.3 
4728. 6 


3-5 

12.2 

1.8 

10.9 

2.8 

8.3 

3.8 

7-3 

1.8 

5-« 

i-S 

14.6 

4-5 

8.6 

4.« 

^34 

I.O 

8.4 

S8 

18  6 

3-3 

14.8 

6.2 

134 

I.I 

12.2 

1.8 

13.2 

0.8 

56 

1.0 

9-5 

II. 2 

15.4 

.s.« 

10.2 

17-3 

18.9 

1.2 

8.7 

48 

6.7 

3-7 

8.0 

10.6 

8.S 

1.2 

6.7 

2.9 

7-5 

99 

2.0 

I7.« 

6  2 

0.6 

12.2 

2  8 

6.6 

31 

2.7 

2.5 


46.2 

47-5 
32 

3.8  20.7 

2.6 

2  7 

51 
2.9 

1.0 


13 

3  3 

13.8 

84 
23-5 
35-4 

7-7 
18.8 
15.6 

17.4 
38.8 
42 
4.8 
5-2 
7-7 
S-i 
7.8 
6  2 


XL— FRUITS  AND  SEEDS  OF  TREES, 


20.0 

44-7 
47.2 
51.0 
23.4 
536 
50.9 

48-0 
43-9 

40.4 

36-3 
31.4 
55.0 
390 
15-5 
40.2 
15.8 

363 
38.1 

39  2 

304 
29.1 

25-5 

33  5 

239 

ETC. 


2.4 
23 

1.6 
2  6 
I.I 

0.6 
0.6 
0  2 
15 

2.1 

\\\ 

0  2 

1  9 

1-7 
1-5 

27.2 

46.4 

44.0 
2.2 
0.6 
3-0 

523 

7-5 

I.I 

I.I 

118 

32 



1-7 
0.3 
0.1 
0  I 
44 

4-7 
4.2 
71 
56 
3-5 
4  1 
51 
3.8 

"'6.*"8 
4-7 

3-2 

2.4 
2.1 

07 

5-3 
0.9 
2.0 
1.2 
08 
I.I 
0.9 
2.4 
0.8 

0.4 
9.4 

3-3 
2  3 
I.I 
2.9 
0.9 

3-3 
1.8 

1-3 
I.I 

Grape  seeds 

Alder 

White  pine 

Red  pine 

Beech  nuts 

Acorns    

Horse  chestnut 


green  husk 


28.6 
37-6 
21.8 
22.4 

,30'22  8 

....]64.5 
3658.9 
38176.4 


I  6 

7-1 
I  3 

lO.O 

0.7 


8.6 

33-9 

8.0 

30.7 

16.8 

1-5 

15. 1 

1-9 

II. 6 

24.5 

5-4 

7.0 

0-5 

II. 6 

1.0 

10. 0 

240 

2.5 

13.0 

3-4 

397 

46.0 



20.8 

2.2 

16.2 

2.8 

22.4 

1.4 

6.3 

14 

Composition  of  the  Ash  of  Agricultural   Plants  and  Products. 


Substance. 


1 

~<5 

s 

is 

^ 

^ 

'^ 

^ 

• 

.2 

•:: 

.<o 

"t?. 
^ 

R 

1 

s 

r 

1^ 

•1 

XL-FRUITS  AND  SEEDS  OF  TREES,  ETC. 


»53 
154 

ic6 


157 
158 

159 
160 
161 
162 
163 
164 
165 
166 
167 

168 
169 

170 
171 

172 

173 
174 

175 
176 
177 
178 
179 
180 
181 
182 
183 
184 

185 
186 
187 

188 
189 
190 
191 
192 

193 
194 

195 
196 


Apple,  entire  fruit. 
Pear,  " 

Cherry,        " 
Plum, 


XII.- 

Mulberry .... 

Horse  chestnut,   spring 

"  autumn.... 

Walnut,  spring 

"         autumn 

Beech,  summer 

"     autumn 

Oak,  summer 

''     autumn 

Fir,  autumn 

Red  pine,  autumn 


... 


26.1 

8.5 
2  2 
0.5 


35-7 
54  7 
51.9 
£9.2 

LEAVES  OF  TREES. 

3  3-53  19  6  .. 

2  7.17  38.8  .. 

I  7.52  19.6  .. 

I  7.72  42.7  .. 

1  7.01  26.6  .. 

2  4.83  18.5  ] 
6  6.75  5.2  c 
1  4.6033.1... 
I  4.90  3.5  c 
1  1.4010.1!... 
I  5.82     I  5  .. 

XIII.— WOOD. 


0.6 


0.6 


5-4 
3  9 
7.8 
4.6 
98 
8.6 
6.0 

13-5 
4.0 
9.9 
2-3 


4-1 
8.0 

7-5 
10.9 


25.7 
21.3 
40.5 
26.9 
53  7 
365 
44  9 
26.1 
48.6 
41.4 
15  2 


13.6 

15  3 
16.0 
15. 1 

10.2 

23  4 
8.2 

21.1 
4.0 
7.8 
4.2 

12.2 
8  I 

16.4 
8.2 


Grape 

Mulberry 

Birch • 

Beech,  body-wood 

Beech,  small-wood 

"       brush... 

Oak.,  body-wood [bark 

"     small  branches  with 
Horse  chestnut  twigs,  autu'n. 

Walnut  twigs,  autumn 

Poplar,  young  twigs 

Willow,      "        "      

Elm,  ''        «' 

Elm,  body-wood 

Linden 

Apple  tree 

Red  pine 

White  pine 

Fir 

Larch 


8 

2-75 

29.8 

6.7 

6.8 

1 

1.60 

6.5 

14-3 

5-7 

2 

0.31 

II. 6 

.5-8 

8-9 

2 

0.6s 

16.1 

3-4 

10  8 

I 

1.05 

i<;.2 

2.1 

16  8 

1 

1-45 

14. 1 

2.2 

10.8 

2 

I 



10. 0 
19.8 

3.6 

4-8 

7.5 

1 

3-31 

19.4 



52 

I 

299 

15.3 



8.1 

5 



14.0 

0.4 

7  5 

I 

11.4 

5.6 

lO.I 

I 

24.1 

2.1 

10  0 

I 

21.9 

13  7 

7-7 

I 

35.8 

6.0 

4.2 

2 

1.29 

12.0 

1.6 

5-7 

I 

0.25 

5-2 

26.8 

6.2 

2 

0.28,15.3 

9-9 

5-9 

6 

0.31  11.8 

4.6 

9.1 

I 

0.32 

15.3 

7.7 

24.5 

37-3|i2.9 
57.3    2.2 


60.  o'   8 

564    5- 
458I1 


48.0 

12.3 

71  5 

5-5 

54.0 

9-3 

51.0 

21.7 

55  9 

12.2 

58.4 

131 

50.8 

164 

37-9 

9.6 

47.8 

3-3 

29.9 

4-9 

71.0 

4.6 

47  9 

51 

50.1 

5-5 

50  I 

.5-8 

27.1 

3-6 

6.1 

5-7 
5-1 
3.8 


6.0 

1-7 
2  6 
2.7 
31 

3.7 

2.7 

4.4 
4.4 
2.8 


4-3 
1-5 

9.0 
2.4 


33-5 
2.9 

13-9 
1.2 

2.0 
15.2 
33-9 

4-4 
30.9 

131 

70.1 


2.7 

0.8 

10.3 

36 

0.3 

4.8 

I.O 

47 

0.7 

67 

1.2 

9.8 

1.4 

I.I 

16 

31 

0.7 

3-2 

29 

1.5 

2.0 

3  I 

0.7 

5-4 

6.2 

1.3 

31 

5-3 

5-3 

2.9 

1.8 

3.0 

2.0 

30 

6.0 

2.3 

15.0 

1-7 

3.6 

XIV.— BARK. 


Birch  

Beech 

Horse  chestnut,  young,  aut'n. 

Walnut 

Elm 

Linden  

Red  pine 

White  pine 

Fir 


^    1-33 

6.57 
1   6  40 

"2*81 

3-30 
2.01 

3.8 

5-4 

14.7 

0.4 

24.2 

II  6 

2  2 

10. 1 

16.1 

5.7 

5-3 

4.2 

8.0 

3-2 

3-0 

1.0 

8  2 

45.6 

7-3 

1-3 

20.1 

0.2 

57.9 

0.4 

1-3 

18.0 

40 

61.3 

7.0 

I.I 

I.I 

10.6 

70.1 

5-9 

0  2 

0.7 

3-2 

72  7 

1.6 

0.6 

8.9 

8.0 

60.8 

4.0 

0.8 

2.3 

4-7 

624 

2.6 

I  0 

15-7 

30 

69.8 

2-5 

1.6 

8.4 

I  4 

43-7 

8.3 

0.8 

3i-i| 

0.1 

3.8 

4.1 
0.5 
0.8 

1.2 

04 
01 


4-4 


0.8 
4.2 
0.6 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 

1-4 
o  3 
0.1 
0.6 
6.7 

1-5 

o  2 
4.0 
0.2 
0.4 
0.6 


1-3 

1.2 

0.4 

1.2 

0.2 
1.0 
0.1 


58 


TABLE   IT. 


Composition  of  Fresh  or  Air-Dry  Agricultural  Products,  giving  the  average 
quantity  of  water,  sulphur,  ash,  and  ash  ingredients,  in  i,ooo  parts  of  substance, 
by  Professor  Wolff. 


Substance. 


"^ 

•^ 

:^ 

'^ 

"s, 

■s 

.<o 

<J 

1 

! 

1 

•1 

0^ 

a 

t 

1 

I.— HAY. 


Meadow   hay 

Dead  ripe  hay  ... 

Red  clover 

White  clover 

Swedish  clover... 

Lucern 

Esparsette 

Green   vetches  .. 
Green  oats 


144 

66.6 

17.1 

4-7 

3-3 

7.7 

41 

3-4 

197 

5-3 

144 

66.2 

5-0 

1-9 

2-3 

«-5 

2.9 

0.5 

41.8 

3.8 

i6o 

56.5 

19. 5 

0.9 

6.9 

19.2 

5.6 

1-7 

15 

2.1 

i6o 

603 

10.6 

4-7 

6.0 

19.4 

«5 

5-3 

2.7 

1.9 

i6o 

46.5 

15-7 

0  7 

7-1 

14.8 

4-7 

1.9 

06 

1-3 

i6o 

60.0 

15.2 

0.7 

3-5 

28.8 

5.1 

3-7 

1.2 

I.I 

i6o 

45-3 

17.9 

0.8 

2.6 

14.6 

4-7 

1-5 

1.8 

14 

i6o 

73-4 

30.9 

2,1 

5.0 

193 

94 

2.7 

1.3 

2  3 

H5 

61.8 

24.1 

2.0 

2.0 

41 

5.1 

I  7 

20  5 

25 

II.— GREEN  FODDER. 


Meadow  grass  in  blossom  .. 

Young  grass 

Ryegrass 

Timothy 

Other  grasses 

Oats,  beginning'to  head  ... 

"     in  blossom  

Barley,  beginning  to  head.. 

"       in  blossom 

Wheat,  beginning  to  head.. 

'*       in  blossom 

Rye  fodder 

Hungarian  millet 

Red   clover  

White   clover  

Swedish  clover 

Lucern 

Esparsette 


Ant  hy  I  lis  "vulneraria. 
Green  vetches 


peas, 
rape. 


Potato 

Artichoke 
Beet 

Sugar  beet. 
Turnip 


700 

23.3 

800 

20.7 

700 

21  3 

700 

21.0 

700 

21.8 

820 

17.0 

770 

166 

7SO 

22  3 

680 

22  s 

7-0 

22.4 

690 

21.7 

700 

16.3 

680 

23.1 

800 

13.4 

810 

13.6 

81S 

10.2 

753 

17.6 

7«S 

II  6 

780 

12.3 

820 

15-7 

815 

137 

850 

13.5 

6.0 

1.6 

I  6 

0.4 

S-3 

0.9 

6.1 

0  6 

7.2 

0.4 

7.1 

0.8 

65 

0.6 

8.6 

04 

5-9 

0.1 

7.8 

0.4 

5-6 

0.1 

6.3 

0.1 

8.6 



46 

0.2 

2.4 

I.I 

3-5 

0.2 

4.5 

0.2 

46 

0.2 

1-3 

0-5 

66 

o.-; 

5.6 

4.4 

0.5 

I.I 

o  6 

05 
0.8 
0.6 
0.6 

05 
07 
07 

0  3 
0-5 
0-5 
1.9 
1.6 

1  4 
1.6 

i.o 
0.7 
0.6 

1. 1 

0.6 


2  7 
2.2 
1.6 
2.0 
1.2 
1.2 
I.I 
I  6 
1.4 

0.7 
1.2 

i  5 
4.6 

44 

3  2 
85 
3-7 
8  5 
4.1 
3-9 
31 


750 
800 

9.4 

10.3 

5.6 
6.7 

0.1 

883 
816 

8.0 
8.0 

4-3 
4.0 

1.2 

0.8 

909 

7-5 

3-0 

08 

0.4 

0.3 

0.4 

0.7 

0.3, 


III.— ROOT  CROPS. 


0.2 
0.4 
0.4 

0-5 
0.8 


1.2 

o  8 
0.8 
o  8 
1.0 
0.6 
0.5 
0.7 
0.7 
0.4 
04 
o  2 
0.8 
0.4 
1.2 
04 
I.I 
0.4 
0.2 
0.6 

0-5 

2.2 


69 

I  9 

06 

2.1 

0.4 

0.4 

84 

I  I 

0.7 

7-5 

I.I 

0.8 

82 

0.9 

0  7 

4-7 

0.8 

03 

5-5 

0.7 

0.4 

7.0 

1.2 

0.5 

10.8 

0.8 

0.7 

9-4 

1.2 

0  3 

12.3 

0.6 

05 

5-2 

6.7 

1-5 



0.4 

o-S 

05 

0.6 

0.4 

0  6 

0.1 

0.3 

04 

0.3 

0.8 

0.5 

03 



0.4 
0  3 

0-5 

0-3 

0.4 

0  2 



0.4 

1.0 

0.6 

1.8 

0.6 

0.2 

0.3 

1.6 

0-3 



0.2 

0.8 

0'3 

0.2 

o.<; 

I.J 

0.4    0.3 

0.2 

1.0 

I.I 

0.2 

0-3 

0.4 


59 


Com  osition  of  Fresh  or   Air-Drv   Agricultural  Products. 


Substance. 


■\s* 

?3 

^ 

■^ 

« 

■> 

Vj 

v.* 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

3 

White  turnip''*'...... 

Kohl  rabi 

Carrot 

Sugar  beet  headsj*.. 

Chicory  

IV.- 


HI.— 

ROOT  CROPS 

915    6  I 

31 

0.2 

0.1 

877    9-5 

49 

0.6 

0.2 

860    8.8 

3.2 

1.9 

0  s 

840 

6.5 

1.9 

1.6 

0.7 

800 

10.4 

4.2 

o.'X 

0.71 

0.8 1 
0.9 1 
0.9. 
0.6! 
0.9  i 


I.I 

1-4 
I.I 
08 
1-5 


0.4 
0.8 
0.6 
0.5 
i.o 


-LEAVES  AND  STEMS  OF  ROOT  CROPS. 


Potato  tops  end  of  August. 
"  first  of  October. 

Beet  tops 

Sugar  beet  tops 

Turnip  tops 

Kohl  rabi  tops 

Carrot  tops 

Chicory  tops 

Cabbage  heads 

Cabbage  stems 


825 

15.6 

770 

II. 8 

907 

148 

897 

18.0 

898 

140 

850 

25.3 

808 

26.1 

8<;o 

18.7 

88<; 

124 

820 

II  6 

2.3 

0.7 

4  3 
40I 

3-2 
3.6| 
3-7 
II. 2 
6.0 
5-1 


0.4 

2.6 

51 

1.0 

0.9 

O.I 

2  7 

5  5 

06 

0.6 

3-1 

1-4 

1-7 

0.8 

I.I 

30 

3.3 

3.6 

1-3 

1.4 

I.I 

0.6 

4-5 

I  3 

I  4 

1.0 

1.0 

«.4 

2.6 

3.0 

6.0 

I  2 

8.6 

1.2 

21 

0.1 

0  6 

2.7 

1.7 

1-7 

0.5 

0.4 

1.9 

2.0 

II 

0.6 

0.5 

1-3 

2.4 

0.9 

04 

0.3 
0.1 
0.4 


v.— MANUFACTURED   PRODUCTS  AND  REFUSE. 


Sugar  beet  cake 

a.  Common  cake,  [machine 

b.  Residue  from  Centrifugal 

c.  Residue  of  maceration... 

Beet  molasses 

Molasses  slump* 

Raw  beet  sugar 

Potato  slump* 

Potato  fibref 

Potato  skinsj 

Fine  wheat  flour 

Rye  flour 

Barley  flour 

Barley  dust||. 

Maize  meal 

Millet  meal 

Buckwheat  grits 

Wheat  bran 

Rye  bran 

Brewer's  grains 

Malt 

Dried  malt 

Malt  sprouts 

Wine  grounds 

Grape  skins 

Beer 

Wine 


692 
692 

820 
885 
175 


9-7 
9-3 
5-6 
4.1 

93.1 


907I17.7 
43  13  7 


947 
806 
300 
136 
142 
140 

113 

140 
140 
140 

135 
131 
768 

475 
42 
92 
650 
600 
900 
866 


5-9 
1-9 
67.1 
4.1 
16.9 
20.0 
49,8 

9  5 
II. 6 

6.2 
556 
71.4 
12  o 
14.6 
26.6 

59  6 
16.1 
16.2 

3-9 

2.8 


3.6 

0.8 

0-5 

25 

^•3 

1.2 

...... 

2.5 

2.6 

0.5 

1.4 

1-5 

04 

0-5 

I.I 

66.2 

9.8 

04 

.5-6 

15.9 

0.2       1 

4.6 

3.8 

1.2 

2.7 

0.4 

0.5 

0.4 

0-3 

0  I 

0.9 

4«.3 

0.5 

45 

6.4 

1-5 

0  I 

0  3 

0.1 

6.5 

0.3 

1-4 

0.2 

5« 

0  5 

2.7 

0.6 

9.4 

07 

3.8 

I  2 

^•7 

0-3 

1.4 

0.6 

2-3 

0  3 

3.0 

1.6 

0.4 

0.8 

0.1 

13.3 

03 

94 

2.6 

193 

09 

"•3 

^•5 

0-5 

0.1 

1.2 

1.4 

2-5 

1.2 

0-5 

4.6 



2.2 

1.0 

20.8 

0.8 

0.9 

8.6 

0.1 

0-5 

2.S 

8.0 

0.4 

1.0 

2.1 

I  5    0-3 

0,2 

O.I 

1.8 



0.2 

0.2 

I  o 
1.2 

07 

0.3 
0.6 


1.2 

0-5 
2  3 
2.1 

8.5 
9  5 
4.4 
4.3 
5-5 
3-0 
28.8 
34.2 
4.6 

5-3 
0.7 
12.5 
2-5 
34 
1-3 
05 


07 

0.6 

0.4 

0.5 

1-7 

0.5 

1.0 



1.2 

0.5 

1.0 



1-9 

14 

0-3 

0.3 

0.5 

0.1 

0.4 

0.5 
0.4 
0.1 
2.0 
0-3 
3-1 
04 

0-3 

06 

0  5 
1.2 



"0*6 

•v. 

0  2 
0.1 
1.8 

0.1 
9-4 
0-3 
0.8 
0.1 



1-4 



0.6 

0-3 
0,1 

9-9 





0.6 

0.1 

0  I 

3-8 
1.2 

0.7 
0.1 
0.1 



3.9 
4.8 

8.8 

0.6 

0.4 

O.I 

0.1 
0.1 
0.1 



*No  special  variety,     f  Crowns  of  sugar  beet  roots.  ''^Residue  from  spirit  manu- 

facture.     fRefuse    of  starch    manufacture.      jFrom  boiled   potatoes.      [[Refuse    from 
making  barley  grits. 


60 


Composition  of  Fresh  or 

AlR- 

-Dry 

Agricultural 

Products, 

■^' 

-Q 

^ 

'^ 

Substance. 

.2 

"JT 

_<o 

<J 

V 

Ji 

•<; 

•ft. 

■<i 

«3 

;^ 

~«i 

i 

■<8 

1 

;:5 

1 

^ 
^ 

3 

v.— MANUFACTURED  PRODUCTS  AND  REFUSE. 


Rape  cake 

Linseed  cake 

Poppy  cake  

Walnut  cake 

Cotton  seed  cake. 


150 

115 

100 
136 
115 


Winter    wheat. 

Winter  rye 

Winter  spelt.... 
Summer  rye...., 

Barley  

Oats 

Maize 

Peas , 

Field  bean 

Garden  bean  ... 

Buckwheat 

Rape 

Poppy 


56.01113  61  0.1 1  64 
55. 2|  12.9  o  8  8.8 
95.4119.81   4.3     4.1 

46.4  15-4  5-7 

61.5l21.8l I   2  61 

VI— STRAW. 

I.I 

1-3 

0.4 

1-3 
1. 1 
1.8 
26 

3.8 
4.6 
2.7 
1.9 
a.  I 
4.3 
VII.— CHAFF. 


6.1 

4-7 
26.8 

31 

2.8 


20  7 
194 
36.1 
20.3 
29  5 


1.9 
1-9 

1.9 

0.5 

0.7 


141 

42.6 

154 

40.7 

143 

47-7 

143 

47.6 

140 

43  9 

141 

44.0 

140 

47-2 

143 

49-2 

180 

58.4 

150 

si-s 

160 

51-7 

170 

38.0 

160 

660 

4-9 

I  2 

7.6 

1-3 

5-3 

0,2 

II. I 

9  3 

2,0 

9  7 

^•3 

16  6 

0  1 

10.7 

2.6 

25  9 

2.2 

19.1 

31 

24-1 

I  I 

9-7 

3-9 

25.1 

0.9 

2.6 

2.3 

1.2 

3  I 

1.9 

0.8 

2.3 

3.0 

0.9 

44 

31 

I  2 

3-3 

I  9 

1.6 

36 

1.8 

1-5 

5.0 

3« 

2.5 

18  6 

3-8 

28 

13-5 

4-1 

0.1 

14  I 

4  I 

1.8 

9  5 

6.1 

2.7 

10. 1 

2.7 

2.7 

19.9 

2-3 

34 

Wheat 

Spelt 

Barley 

Oats... 

Maize  cobs 

Flax  seed    hulls. 


Flax  straw , 

Rotted  flax    stems 

Flax  fiber    

Entire  flax  plant..., 
Entire  hemp  plant 
Entire  hop  plant.... 

Hops , 

Tobacco 


VIII.- 

140 

[OO 

too 
250 
300 
250 
220 

180 


-TEXTILE  PL 

ANT 

S,  ETC. 

31.9 

II. 8 

1.6 

2-3 

8.3 

4-3 

2.0 

21  6 

1.9 

I.O 

1.2 

II. I 

1-3 

07 

60 

02 

0  2 

0  3 

3.8 

0.7 

0.2 

3^-3 

"  3 

I  5 

2.9 

5.0 

7.4 

1.6 

28.2 

5-2 

0.9 

2.7 

12.2 

3-3 

0.8 

74.0 

19.4 

2.8 

43  "8 

9.0 

3.« 

59.8 

22.3 

13 

2.1  10  I 

9.0 

1.6 

197-5 

54- 1 

7-3 

20.7 

73.1 

7-1 

7.7I 

IX.— LITTER. 


Heath  200 


Broom   ( Spartium ) 

Fern    [Aspidium) 

Scouring  rush  [Equisetum) 

Sea    weed    [Fucus) 

Beech  leaves 

Oak  leaves 

Fir  leaves  ( Pinus  sylvestris ) 
Red  pineleaves(  P/««i  picea 

Reed    [Arundo  phrag) 

Sedge   {Carex) 

Rush  [Juncus) 

Bulrush  [Scirpus) 


160 

160 
140 
180 
150 
150 
160 
160 
180 
140 
140 
140 


36.1 

4.8 

I  9 

3.0 

6.8 

1.8 

1.61 

18.9 

6.9 

0-5 

2.8 

3-2 

1.6    0.7 

58.9 

25.2 

2.7 

4-5 

8.3 

5-7l   3-0 

2044 

27.0 

1.0 

4-7 

25.6 

41 

12.9 

118. 0 

17.1 

28.3 

II. 2 

16.4 

3.7 

28,3 

57  4 

3-0 

0-3 

3-4 

25.8 

2.4 

2.1 

41.7 

1-5 

0.2 

1-7 

20.2 

3-4 

1.8 

II. 8 

1.2 



I.I 

4.9    1-9 

0-5 

48.9 

0.7 



Id 

7-4 

4.0 

1.4 

3«-5 

3.3 

0.1 

0-5 

2-3 

0.8 

I.I 

69.5 

23.1 

5-1 

2.9 

3.7]  4-7 

2-3 

45.6 

16,7 

3.0 

2.9 

4-3 

2.9 

4.0 

74-4 

7.2 

7-7 

2.2 

5-4 

4.8 

4.2 

4.9 

3.6 
46 

0.7 
2.5 

28.2 
23-7 
34.1 

26  6 

23.6 

21.2 

17.9 

2  8 

31 

24 

2.8 

2.6 

7.5 


0  I 

0.3 

L- 

I  6 

0.9 



13 



1-7 
39 

3-0 
8.1 

2- 7 1 
40 

4  7 


138 

92.5 

8.4 

I  7 

1.2 

1.9 

4.0 



75  I 

130 

82.7 

7-9 

0.2 

2.1 

2  0 

6.0 

I  9 

bi4 

140 

122.4 

9.4 

I  1 

1.6 

12.7 

2.4 

3-7 

86.7 

143 

79.0 

104 

3-8 

2.1 

7.0 

0.2 

20     47-3: 

"5 

5.0 

2.4 

0.1 

0.2 

02 

0.2 

0.1       1.3! 

120 

58.3 

18. 1 

2-5 

I  6 

17.2 

1.6 

2.8 

lO.O 



0.8 

0.2 
3.6 

1-3 
1.8 

2  2 

1-5 

1.4 

3.0 

0.2 

0  3 
08 

19 



2.1 

0.7 



5-9 
9.2 
9.0 

3-4 
0.2 
8  8 

2.0 
4.8 

12.7 
1.9 

3.6 

IIO.O 

2.0 

19.5 

12.9 
1-5 

34-3 
27.5 
21.8 
5.0 
32.2 


0.8 
0.5 
6.0 

1 1.7 

II.9 

0.2 

0-5 



3-9 
6.5 
3-9 



61 


Composition  of 

Fresh  or 

Air-Dry 

Agricultural 

Products 

:?• 

'^ 

Substance. 

.2 

vT 

Jr 

^ 

vT 

1 

1 

.1 

3^ 

« 

s 

1 
3 

X.— GRAINS  AND  SEEDS  OF  AGRICULTURAL  PLANTS 


Wheat 

Rye 

Barley  

Oats 

Spelt,  with  husk  .. 

Maize 

Rice,  with  husk  .. 

''  husked  ,  ... 
Millet,  with  husk 

'*       husked 

Sorghum  

Buckwheat 

Rape      seed 

Flax         "    

Hemp      ''      , 

Poppy       ''    

Mustaru  '•    

Beet  '*    

Turnip    <'    

Carrot      "    , 

Peas 

Vetches 

Firld  beans  

Garden  beans 

Lentils 

Lupines 

Clover  seed  

Esparsette  seed. 


143 

17.7 

149 

17-3 

H5 

21,8 

140 

26  4 

148 

35^8 

136    12  3 

120 

69,0 

130 

3^4 

130 

39,1 

131 

12,3 

140 

16,0 

141 

9.2 

120 

37,3 

118 

32,2 

122 

48,1 

147 

52,2 

120 

37.8 

140 

48,7 

120 
120 

138 

136 

141 

148 

134 
138 

150 

160 


5»5 
5.4 
4.8 
4.2 
6,2 

3»3 
12.7 
0,8 
4,7 
2>3 
4.2 
2.1 


XI.— FRUITS 


35,0 
748 
24,2 
20,7 
29,6 
26,1 
17,8 
34,0 
36.9 
37<6 


10,4 
9»7 
7,1 
6,0 

9,1 

7,7 

14,3 

9,8 

6,3 

12,0 

",5 

7,7 

11,4 

13.8 

10,8 

AND  SEEDS 


0,6 

0,3 
0,6 
1,0 
0,6 
o,^ 

3,1 

02 
0,4 
0,7 
0-5 
0,6 
0,4 
0,6 
0,4 

o>5 
22 

8-4 
0,3 
3,6 
0,9 

2,2| 

0,4 
0,8 

1,8 
6,0 
0,2 
1,1 


2,2 

0,6 

8,2 

0,4 

1,9 

°,5 

8  2 

0.4 

1,8 

0,5 

7,2 

°,5 

1,8 

1,0 

5.5 

°,4 

2,1 

0,9 

7.2 

0,6 

1,8 

0,3 

5-5 

0.1 

5,9 

3'5 

32,6 

0,4 

0,5 

0,1 

1,7 



3,3 

0,4 

9,1 

0,1 

2,3 

6,6 

0,2 

2,4 

0,2 

8,1 



1,2 

0,31   4,4 

0,2 

4,6 

5  2 

16,4 

1,3 

4,2 

2,7 

13,0 

0,4 

2,7 

11,3 

17,5 

0,1 

5-0 

i«,5 

16,4 

i,o| 

3,9 

7,1 

14,7 

1,8 

9.2 

7,6 

7.6 

2,0 

3.0 

6,1 

14,1 

2,5 

5,0 

29,0 

11,8 

4.2 

1,9 

1,2 

8,8 

0,8 

1,8 

0,6 

7'9 

0,9 

2,0 

^5 

11,6 

1,5 

2,0 

2,0 

7,9 

i,° 

0,4 

0,9 

5,^ 

2,1 

2,7 

8,7 

2,3 

4,5 

2,3 

12,4 

1,7 

2,5 

",9 

9,0 

1^2 

0,3 
0,3 

5,9 
12,3 
i5>8 
0,3 
0,4 
0,1 
20,5 


Grape  seeds 

Alder     "      

Beech   nuts  ,... 

Acorns,    fresh 

"       '     dried 

Horse  chestnuts,  fresh. 

"  •'  green  husk 

Apple,  entire  fruit  ... 
Pear,  «         ''      .., 

Cherry,      '«        "       ., 
Plum,        "        "      .. 


Mulberry 

Horse  chestnuts,  spring  . 

"  "  autumn. 
Walnut,  spring 

"  autumn 

Beech,  summer 

"        autumn 

Oak,    summer 


autumn. 


OF 

2,1 
3,5 
3.1 
°,5 
i,° 
0,1 
0,1 
0,2 
0,2 
0,2 
0,2 

XII.— LEAVES  OF  TREES. 

670 
700 
600 
700 
600) 
750 

550 
700 
600 


TREES,  ETC. 


1,2 

0,4 
0,4 

5,7 
1^7 
0,9 
1,0 
0,2 
4,0 
0,2 
0,4 
0,4 
0,2 
0,2 

°,3 
0,9 

o>3 


1,5 

1,7 
1,4 

1,7 


0,2 
0,1 

0,1 

23 

0,2 

4.6 

2,5 

0,6 

0,2 
0,8 

0.3 
0,6 
0,6 

0.5 

0,4 


120 

24,7 

7,1 

140 

44.2 

16,6 

180    27,1 

6,2 

560 

9,6 

6,2 

158 

18,3 

11,8 

492 

12,0 

7,1 

818 

8,0 

6,1 

840 

^,7 

1,0 

800 

4,1 

2,2 

780 

4,3 

2,2 

820 

40 

2,4 

0 

7 

2 

7 

0 

I 

0 

I 

0 

7 

0 

4 

0 

' 

8,4 
13.6 

6,7 

5.9 

5,7 
5,6 

0,6 

1,5 

0,6 

°.3 
1,4 

0,7 

1.6 

0,2 

0,2 

1,3 
1^4 
0,8 

3,3 
2,7 
0,5 

0,5 
0,2 

0,1 

°,4 

0,1 

0,1 

0,4 

0,2 

0,1 

0,3 

0,6 

0.2 

0,1 

0.3 
1  0,4 

°,7 
0,6 

0,2 
0,2 

0,4 
0,1 

".7 

2,3 

21,5 

«,3 

30,1 

5,9 

23.2 

9.9 

28,4 

7,6 

12,1 

2,2 

30,5 

1,6 

13,8 

4,6 

19,6 

0.7 

0,2 

0,2 


0,6 

3,0 

1,2 

0,1 

4,1 

0,8 

4,6 

5,0 

1-3 

0,6 

2,4 

12,2 

2,5 

0,5 

4,2 

1,1 

6,2 

4,9 

0,6 

0,3 

2,8 

15,3 

I.I 

0,8 

0,6 

1,1 

4,4 

0.9 

0,4 

1,8 

1,8 

13,7 

1,3 

1,1 

10,31 

1,9 

3,6 

1,7 

o,4l   o,6| 

0,8 

9,5 

1,6 

0,9 

6,il 

10,1 

0,8 

7,8 
2.7 
2,4 

2,3 

2  5 


0,1 

°,i 
0,3 
0,8 

0,4 


0,8 
1,2 

0,1 
0,2 
0,1 
0,1 


62 


Composition  of  Fresh  or  Air-Dry  Agricultural  Products. 


•^' 

•^ 

' 

Sub  dance. 

'Hi 

t 

.jj 

^* 

•*; 

-«! 

a 

•S 

is 

/ 

-«! 

Q 

-w' 

^^ 

P 

^ 

c 
-^ 

:^ 

!^ 

'^ 

<^ 

=o 

^ 

•^ 

S; 

c^ 

^ 

t5 

c^ 

Fir,  autumn 

Red    pine,    autumn. 


XII. 

•I550' 
XIII 


-LEAVES  OF  TREES. 

6,31  o,6| I  o,6|  2,61 

26,2!  0,4! '  0,6'  4,01 

—WOOD,  AIR-DRY. 


Grape 

Mulberry 

Birch  

Beech,  body  wood  .. 

"        small   wood.. 

"        brush , 

Oak,  body  wood 

"     small   branches  with 

bark 

Horse  chestnut,  young  wood 

in  autumn 

Walnut , 

Apple  tree , 

Red  pine 

White  pine 

Fir , 

Larch 


150 

23,4 

7,0 

1,6 

1,6 

8,7 

150 

i3'7 

0,9 

2,0 

0,8 

7,« 

150 

2,6 

0,3 

0,2 

0,2 

1,5 

150 

5,5 

0,9 

0,2 

0,6 

3,1 

150 

«,9 

i»4 

0,2 

1.5 

4,1 

150 

12,3 

1.7 

03 

1.3 

59 

150 

5>i 

o>5 

0,2 

0,2 

3»7 

150 

10,2 

2,0 



0,8 

5.5 

150 

28,1 

5,5 



1.5 

143 

150 

^5.5 

3,9 

2,0 

14,^ 

150 

11,0 

1,3 

0,2 

0.6 

7,« 

150 

^i 

0,1 

0,6 

o,x 

1,0 

150 

2,4 

o>4 

0,2 

0,1 

'A 

150 

2,6 

0,3 

0,1 

0,2 

1,3 

150 

2,7 

0,4 

0,2 

0,7 

0,7 

Birch  

Horse    chestnut,  young    in 

autumn  

Walnut,  young  in  autumn 

Red    pine... 

White  pine    

Fir 


150 

150 
150 
150 
150 
150 


XI\ 

.—BARK. 

.Ml 

0,4 

0,6 

0,9 

5,2 

55,9 

13,5 

2,2 

34,3 

54,4l 

6,3 

5,« 

38,1 

23,9 

1,31    1,0 

*,* 

14,9 

28,1 

2,3|  0,9 

0,8 

19,6 

I7,il 

0.5 

0,2 

0,2 

7,5! 

1,3     0,31  o,» 
2,1 1  0,718,41 


3-0 
0,3 
0,21 

o,3| 
1,0 
1,51 
0,3 1 

0,9 

59 
3,1 

0,5 
0,1 
0,1 
0,2 
0,1 


o,3| 


0,6 
1,4 

0,1 
0,1 
0,1 
0,1 


0,8 

0,3 
0,1 
0,1 
0,1 
0,1 


0,2 

0'5 
0,1 

0,3 
0,6 
1,2 
0,1 

0,3 

0,2 

0,7 
0,2 
0,1 
0,2 
0,4 
o 


0,2 

0,6 

0.4 

0.1  


0,8 

0,2 

2,3 

0,2 

3,9 

0,6 

0,6 

0,7 

...  . 

3.2 

0,1 

0,4 

0,2  ...  . 

0,6 

0,2 

3.« 

0,1 



0,7 

0,5 

2,3 

0,3 

1,4 

0,1 

5,3 



63 


TABLE  Iir. 

Proximate  Composition  of  Agricultural  Plants  and  Products,  giving  the  average 
quantities  of  Water,  Organic  Matter,  Ash,  Albuminoids,  Carbohydrates,  etc., 
Crude  Fiber,  Fat,  etc.,  by  Professors  Wolff  and  Knop.*  


-1-7 

"^ 

Substance. 

1 

•M- 

k 

? 

i 

J 

■^ 

<u 

^ 

!• 

^ 

'^ 

a 

a 

^ 

HAY. 

Meaiiow  hay,  medium  quality 

Aftermath , 

Red  clover,  full  blossom 

*•  "        ripe ?:... 

White  clover,  full  blossom  

Swedish  or  Alsike  clover  [Trifolium  hybridum)... 

"  clover,  ripe 

Lucern,  young 

"       in  blossom 

Sand  lucern,  early  blossom  [Medicago  intermedia) 

Esparsette,  in  blossom 

Incarnate  clover,    "      {Trifolium  incarnatum) 

Yellow  "         "      [Medicago  lupulina) 

Vetches,  in  blossom 

Peas,  "  

Field  spurry,  in  blossom    [Spergula  ar'vensis) 

"  "     after  blossom 

Serradella,          "          "       [Ornithopus  sati'vus)... 
before  "       


Italian  Rye  grass  [Lolium  italicum) 

Timothy  {^Pheleum  pratense) 

Early  meadow  grass  [Poa  annua) 

Crested  dog's  tail  [Cynosurus  cri status) 

Soft  broom  grass  [Bromus  mollis  ) 

Orchard  grass  {Dactylis glomerata) 

Barley  grass  [Hordeum  pratense) 

Meadow  foxtail  [Alopecurus  pratensis) 

Oat  grass,  French  rye  grass  {^Arrhenatherum 

a'venaceum) 

English  rye  grass  [Lolium perenne) 

Harter  Schwingel  [Festucaf) 

Sweet-scented   vernal   grass    [Anthoxanthum 

odoratum) ^ 


14-3 

79.5 

6.2 

8.2 

41-3 

30.0 

14.3 

79.2 

6.5 

9  5 

45-7 

24.0 

16.7 

77.1 

6.2 

134 

29.9 

35.8 

16.7 

77.7 

5.6 

94 

20.3 

48.0 

16.7 

74.« 

85 

14.9 

34.3 

25.6 

16.7 

750 

8.3 

15-3 

29.2 

30-5 

16.7 

7«.3 

5-0 

10.2 

23.1 

45 -o 

16.7 

74.6 

«.7 

19.7 

3^-9 

22.0 

16.7 

76.9 

6.4 

14.4 

22.5 

40.0 

167 

77.2 

6.1 

^S-i 

26.9 

35-1 

16.7 

77.1 

6.2 

13-3 

36.7 

27.1 

16.7 

761 

7.2 

12.2 

30.1 

33-8 

16.7 

77.3 

6.o|i4  6 

36.5 

26.2 

16.7 

75.0 

8.3 

142 

35-3 

^5-5 

16.7 

76.3 

7.0 

143 

36.8 

25.2 

16.7 

73.^ 

9.5ii2.o 

39-8 

22.0 

16.7 

75-5 

7.8 

7.8)41.7 

26.0 

16.7 

77-7 

5.6 

14.6 

29.2 

33-9 

16.7 

75.8 

7.5 

15  3 

37-2 

26.1 

14.3 

77.S 

7.8 

8.7 

51-4 

16.9 

14.3 

81.2 

4.5 

9-7 

48.8 

22.7 

14.3 

83.3 

24 

lO.I 

47.2 

25.9 

14-3 

80  2 

5-5 

9-5 

48.0 

22.6 

14-3 

80.7 

50 

14.8 

35.0 

31.0 

14-3 

81. 1 

4.6 

II. 6 

40.7 

28.9 

14-3 

80.4 

5-3 

9.6 

42.0 

27.2 

H3 

79.0 

6.7 

10.6 

39-5 

29  0 

14.3 

75.8 

9-9 

II. I 

35-3 

29.4 

14.3 

79.-- 

^•5 

10.2 

38.9 

30.2 

14.3 

81.0 

4-7 

10.4 

37-5 

33.2 

14-3 

80.3 

5-4 

8.9 

40.2 

31.2 

2.0 

2.4 
3.2 

2.0 
3-5 
3-3 

2.2 

3-3 

2.5 

3-0 
2.5 
3.0 

3-3 
2-5 
2.6 
3.2 

2.5 

1-5 
1.9 

2.8 
3.0 
2.9 

2.8 
1.8 

2.7 
2.0 
2-5 

2.7 
2.7 
2.9 


*  Landtvirthschaftlicher  Kalender,  1867,  through  Knop's  Agricultur-Chemie,  1868, 
pp  715-720.  This  Table  is,  as  regards  water  and  ash,  a  repetition  of  Table  II,  buc 
includes  the  newer  analyses  of  1865-7.  Therefore  the  averages  of  water  and  ash  dq 
not  in  all  cases  agree  with  those  of  the  former  Tables.  It  gives  besides,  the  proportions 
of  nitrogenous  and  non-nitrogenous  compounds,  /.  f..  Albuminoids  and  Carbohydrates, 
etc.  It  also  states  the  averages  of  Crude  Fiber  and  of  Fat,  etc.  The  discussion  of  the 
data  of  this  Table  belongs  to  the  subjects  of  Food  and  Cattle-Feeding.  They  are,  how- 
ever, inserted  here,  as  it  is  believed  they  are  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  English^ 
language,  f  Organic  Matter  here  signifies  the  combustible  part  of  the  plant.  ||  Car- 
bohydrates^ etc,^  includes  fat,  starch,  sugar,  pectin,  etc.,  all  in  fact  of  Org.  Matter^ 
except  Albuminoids  and  Crude  Fiber.  |  Crude  Fiber  is  impure  cellulose  obtained  by* 
the  processes  described  on  pages  60  and  61.  ^  Fat^  etc  ,  is  the  ether-extract,  p.  94,5; 
and  contains  besides  fat,  wax,  chlorophyll,  and  in  some  cases  resins. 


64 


Proximate  Composition  of  Agricultural  Plants  and  Products. 


Substance. 


J 

;;^ 

•-T 

53 
>54 

■^ 

^ 

V, 

^ 

o 

-is 

-a 

<o 

>^ 

fi; 

^ 

S 
a 

^= 

-^ 

^ 

a 

HAY. 

Velvet  grass   {Holcus  lanatus) ]    g 

Spear  grass    Kentucky  Blue  grass  [Poa  pra-  j    S 

tensis) 1    °, 

Rough  meadow  grass  [Poa  tri'via/is)  |    ^ 

Yellow  oat  grass  {A'vena  Jla-vescens) 'Z 

Quaking  grass  [Briza  media) J  (j 

Average  of  all  the  grasses 

STRAW. 

Winter  wheat 

Winter  rye 

Winter  spelt    , 

Winter  barley  

Summer  barley 

"  *•       with  clover 

Oat 

Vetch  fodder 

Pea 

Bean 

Lentil 

Lupine , 

Maize , 


14,3 

80,2 

5,5 

9,9 

36,7 

33,6 

H,3 

80,6 

5,1 

8,9 

39,1 

32,6 

14,3  78,6 

7,1 

8,4 

37,6 

32,6 

14,3  79,8 

5,9 

6,4 

42,6 

30,8 

14,3  78,3 

7,4 

5,2 

42,8 

3°:  3 

14,3  79,9 

5,8 

9,5 

41,7 

38,7 

14,3  j8o,2 

14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
17,3 
14,3 
14,2 
14,0 


82,5 

79i7 
80,2 

78,7 
77,7 
80,7 
79,7 
81,7 

77,7 
79,2 
81,4 
82,9 


5,5 

1,0 

30,2 

48,0 

3,2 

1,5 

27,0 

54,0 

6,0 

2,0 

27,7 

50,5 

5,5 

2,0 

29,8 

48,4 

7.0 

3,0 

32,7 

43,0 

8,0 

b,o 

34,7 

37,5 

5,0 

2,5 

38,2 

40,0 

6,0 

7,5 

28,2 

44,0 

4,0 

6,5 

35,2 

40,0 

5,0 

10,2 

33,5 

34,0 

6,5 

14.0 

27,2 

36,6 

4,4 

4,9 

34,7 

41,8 

4,0 

3,0 

39,0 

40,0 

CHAFF  AND  HULLS. 


Wheat. 
Spelt... 
Rye.... 
Barley. 
Oat 


14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 
14,3 

Vetch 115,0 

Pea 14,3 

Bean 15,0 

Lupine ....    14,3 

Rape 10,3 

Maize  cobr 10,3 

GREEN  FODDER. 

Grass,       before  blossom 

"  after         "        , 

Red  clover,  before  "        

«  «     full       "        

White    «       «        *' 

Swedish  clover,  early  blossom 

"  "         full  «      

Lucern,  very  young 

*•  in  blossom 

Sand  lucern,  early  blossom 

Esparsette,  in  "  

Incarnate  clover,  in  "  [Trifolium  incamatum 
Yellow  clover,  in  blossom  [Medicago  lupulina).. 
Serradella,  "  '*       i^Omithopus  sativus).. 


1^,1 

12,0 

77,2 

8,5 

78,2 

7,5 

72,7 

130 

67,7 

18,0 

77,0 

8,0 

79,7 

6,0 

77,0 

8,0 

829 

2,8 

77,5 

8,5 

83,2 

2,8 

4,5 
2,9 
3,5 
3,0 
4,0 

8,5 

8,1 

10,5 

2,5 

3,5 
1,4 


33,2 
32,8 
28,2 
38,7 
29,7 
32,5 
36,6 

29,5 
47,2 
40,0 
44,0 


36,0 

41,5 
46,5 
30,0 
34,0 
36,0 

35,0 
37,0 
33,0 
34,0 
37,8 


75,0 

22,9 

2,1 

3,° 

12,9 

7,0 

69,0 

29,0 

2,0 

2,5 

15,0 

",5 

83,0 

15,5 

1,5 

3,3 

7,7 

45 

78,0 

20,3 

1,7 

3,7 

8  6 

8,c 

80,5 

17,5 

i,o 

3,5 

8,0 

6,0 

85,0 

13,5 

1,5 

3,3 

5,7 

4,5 

82,0 

16,2 

1,8 

3,3 

6,3 

6  6 

81,0 

17,3 

1,7 

4,5 

7,8 

5,0 

74,0 

24,0 

2,0 

4,5 

7,0 

12,5 

78,0 

20,1 

1.9 

4,0 

6,6 

9,5 

80,9 

18,5 

^5 

3,2 

8,8 

6,5 

81,5 

16,9 

1,6 

2,7 

6,7 

7,5 

80,0 

i8,S 

1,5 

3,5 

9,0 

6,0 

80,0 

18,7 

1,3 

3,6 

7,0 

8,1 

65 


Proximate  Composition  of  Agricultural  Plants  and  ProdiTct!*. 


Subs 


^I 

^ 

u 

w 

•5 

>3 

"a 

1 

Q 

« 

•<} 

<5 

a 

^ 

<^ 

^ 

•^ 

a 

6 

GREEN  FODDER. 


Vetches,  in  blossom 

Peas,  •      "  "      

Oats,  early   blossom 

Rye 

Maize,  late  end  August 

u        garly  "  '-      

Hungarian  millet,  inblos'm  [Pant cum germankum] 

Sorghum    sacckaratum 

Sorghum  -vulgar e 

Field  spurry,  in  blossom 

Cabbage 

"        stumps 

Field  beet  leaves 

Carrot  leaves 

Poplar  and  elm  leaves  

Artichoke  stem 

Rape  leaves 


820 

16,2 

1,8 

3,1 

7,6 

5,5 

81, s 

17,0 

i,S 

3,2 

8,2 

5.6 

81,0 

17,6 

1,4 

2,3 

8,8 

6,5 

72»9 

^5.5 

1.6 

3,3 

14,9 

7,3 

«4,3 

14,6 

1,1 

0,9 

8,7 

5,0 

82,2 

16,7 

1,1 

1,1 

10,9 

4,7 

65,6 

32,0 

^,4 

5,9 

15,0 

"<5 

740 

25,1 

0,9 

2,5 

15,3 

7,31 

77,3!^!, 6 

1,1 

2,9 

",9 

6,7 

80,0 

18,0 

2,0 

2,3 

10,4 

5,3 

89,0 

9,8 

1,2 

1,5 

6,3 

2,0 

82,0 

16,1 

1,9 

1,1 

I2,Z 

2,8 

9o>5 

6,7 

1,8 

1,9 

4,6 

1,3 

82,2 

14,2 

3,6 

3,2 

8,0 

3.0 

70  0 

28,0 

2,0 

6,0 

X5,5 

6,5 

80,0 

17,3 

^,7 

2,3 

10,6 

3,4 

dry 

75,5 

44,5 

20,0 

47,5 

8,0 

0,6 
0,6 
0,5 
0,9 
0,5 
0.5 

1,5 
1,4 

? 

0,7 
0,4 
0,8 

0,5 
1,0 

1,5 
0,8 
2,0 


Potato 

Jerusalem  Artichoke 

Turnip  Chervil  ?  (Koerbelriibe). 

Kohl-rabi  

Field  beets  (about  3  lbs.  weight) 

Sugar  beets  (1-2  lbs  ) 

Ruta-bagas  (about  3  lbs.) 

Carrot  (about  J  lb.) 

Giant  carrot  (1-2  lbs.)  

Turnips    (Stoppelriibe) 

Turnips  (Turnipsriibe) 

Parsnip 

Pumpkin 


ROOTS  AND  TUBERS. 

24,1 


95,0 
80.0 
76,0 
88,0 
88,0 

81,5 
87,0 
85,0 
87,0 

91  5 

92.0 
88,3 
94  5 


18,9 

23,1 
10,8 
II, I 

17,7 
12.0 
14,0 
12,2 
7,7 
7,2 
11,0 

4,5 


0,9 

a,o 

21,0 

1,1 

0.3 

I.I 

2,0 

15,6 

i»3 

0,5 

0,9 

3>2 

17,0 

1,0 

0,6 

1.2 

2,3 

7,3 

1,2 

0,2 

0.9 

1,1 

9,1    0,9 

0,1 

0,8 

1,0 

15.4 

x,3 

0,1 

1,0 

1,6 

9,3 

1,1 

0,1 

1,0 

1.5 

10,8 

1,7 

0,2 

08 

1,2 

9,8 

1,2 

0,2 

0,8 

0,8 

5,9 

1,0 

OtI 

0,8 

1,1 

5,1 

1,0 

0  I 

0,7 

1,6 

8,4 

1,0 

0,2 

1,0 

1,3 

2,8 

1,0 

0,1 

GRAINS  AND  SEEDS. 


Rice 

Winter  wheat.., 
Wheat  flour.... 

Spelt 

Winter  rye 

Rye  flour 

Winter  barley.., 
Summer  barley. 

Oats 

Maize 

Millet 

Buckwheat 

Vetches 

Peas 

Beans  (field)..., 
Lentils 

5 


14,6 

84.9 

14,4 

83.6 

12  6 

86,7 

14.8 

81,3 

143 

83,7 

14,0 

844 

14-3 

83^4 

14,3 

83.1 

14,3 

82,7 

14.4 

835 

14,0 

830 

14.0 

83,6 

143 

834 

14,3 

83,2 

14,5 

82,0 

H,5 

82,5 

0,5 

2,0 

0,7 

39 

2,0 
1,6 
2.3 
2,6 

3,0 
2,1 

3-° 
2,4 
2,3 
2,5 
3'5 


7-5 
13,0 
11,8 
10,0 

II. o 

10,5 
9,0 

9.5 

12,0 

10,0 

H,5 

9,0 

27,5 
22,4 

25  5 


76,5 
67,6 

74-1 
54,8 
69,2 
72,5 
65.9 
66,6 
60.9 
68,0 
62  I 
59  6 
49,2 
52,3 
45,5 


3o'23,8|52,o 


0,9 
3,0 
o>7 

'6,5 
3'5 
1,5 
8,5 
7,0 

10,3 

5  5 

6,4 

15,0 

6.7 

9,2 

I 


o»5 
ii5 
1,2 

1,5 

2,0 
1,6 

2,5 
2.5 
6,0 
7.0 
3.0 
2,5 
2,7 

2,5 
2,0 


6,91  2,6 


66 


Proximate  Composition 

OF  Agricultural  Plants  and  Products. 

Substance. 

h 

1 

1 

v.* 

vj 

a 

<i 

^3 

^ 

1" 

^ 

^ 
^ 

a 

a 

(? 

GRAINS  AND  SEEDS. 


Lupines 

Acorns,  without  shell,  dry 

"        with  *'       fresh.... 

Chestnuts,  without  shell,  fresh. 

Madia  seed 

Flax  seed 

Rape  seed 

Hemp  seed 

Poppy  seed 

Horse  chestnut 


H-5 

20,0 
56,0 

8,4 

11,0 
12.2 

14.7 
30,0 


820 

3>') 

34.5 

33.0 

H  5 

78.4 

1,6 

S'O 

68,8 

4,6 

43.0 

i,oj  2,0 

36,5 

4,5 

49,01   1,8 

3.0 

45.2 

0,8 

86,9 

4,7 

22,9 

46,0 

18,0 

82,7 

5.0 

20,5 

55,0 

7,2 

85,1 

3-9 

19.4 

55'4 

10,3 

83,6 

4,2 

16,3 

55.2 

12,1 

78.3 

7.0 

17,5 

54,7 

6,1 

68,8 

1,2 

10,5 

58,3 

4,0 

REFUSE. 

Sugar  beet  cake 

"        "      '"    residue  from  centrifugal  machine 
"        •*       "  *♦  "      maceration... 

Potato  slum. 

Rye  slum 

Maiseslum 

Molasses  slum  

Brewer's  grains 

Malt  sprouts 

Fresh  malt,  with   sprouts 

Dry  malt,  without  sprouts  

Wheat  bran 

Rye  bran 

Rape  cake 

Linseed  cake 

Gold  of  pleasure  cake 

Poppy  cake 

Hemp  cake 

Beechnut  cake  

"  **     without  shells 

Beet  molasses 

Potato  fiber , 


Coffee  bean 

Chocolate  bean... 
Black  China  tea. 
Green     "       "  . 


18,5 
12,2 

4.4I 
3,o| 
6,8 

7,21 
5>H 


COFFEE.     TEA. 

12,0 
11,0 
15.0 
150 


6,3| 
3,6 
1,41 
o,6| 
1,6 
i,3l 

44,7|i7.5l 
39,5  4»3! 
76,31  8.o| 
50,0  17,81 
53,5|i5'0 
33,5  i5'8 
41,3  ii'O 
37,i|i2.5| 

37,7|",4| 
36,5122,0 
31.3  2o,5| 
36,9!  5,5| 

5,0'   1,31 


93,01  7,o|io,ol49,o|34,oli2,o 

85,0!  4,0  20,0  |52,o  1 1 3,0  44,0 

79,o|  6,0     5,0,32,0,40,0    2,9 

79,01  6,o|    5,0 127,0 |45,o|   2,0 


70,0 

26,6 

3.4 

1,8 

82,0 

16,8 

1,2 

1,0 

92,6 

6,6 

0,8 

0,8 

94,8 

4,6 

0.6 

1,0 

89,0 

10,5 

0-5 

2,1 

89,0 

10,5 

0,5 

2,0 

92,0 

63 

1,7 

1,2 

76,6 

22,2 

1,2 

4,9 

8,0 

85.2 

6,8 

23,0 

47,5 

4,2 

50,8 
93,1 

1,7 

2,7 

6,5 
8,8 

13,1 

81,8 

5,1 

14,0 

12,5 

83,0 

4.5 

14,5 

150 

77,6 

7,4 

28,3 

",5 

80,6 

7,9 

28,3 

15,0 

781 

6,9 

28,5 

10,0 

81,6 

8,4 

32,5 

10,5 

85,5 

4,0 

27,0 

10,0 

848 

5,2 

24,0 

12,5 

79,8 

7,7 

37,3 

16,7 

72,5 

10.8 

8,0 

82,6 

71,1 

0,3 

0,8 

6,0 
4,3 

2,3 
2,5 

41  o 

37,0 

40,0 
33,6 
41,0 
23  o 


0,2 
0,1 
0.1 
0,1 
0,4 
1,2 

7,6 

2,5 

1,5 

2,5 
3,8 

3,5 
9,0 

:0,0 

8,5 
8,1 
6,2 

7,5 

7,5 


67 
TABLE  IV. 


DETAILED   ANALYSES   OF    BREAD   GRAINS. 


\4\ 


^  I  Ci 


■^ 

» 

'^  .• 

1:2 

^ 

vl 

<3           -<i 

..'a    1 

^ 

^           ^ 

^    1 

Analyst. 


WHEAT. 


From  Elsass 

"     Saxony 

"     America 

"  Flanders...  . 

"      Odessa 

*'  Tanganrock. 

"     Poland 

"     Hungary 

"     Egypt 


1461597 

11,8644 
10,9163,4 
io,7|6i.o 
143  59^6 
13.6157,9 
21,5153  4 
13,4162,2 
2o,6|55,4 


7,2  1.2 
i,4U,6 
3,8|i,2| 
9,2ti,o| 

6,31-5 

7,9|i'9! 

6,8|i,5| 

5>4|i,i 
6,0  1,1 


i,7|i,6 
2.5  1,6 


8,3 
1,8 

1-7 
2,3 

1,7 
1,7 


14.0 
156 
10,8 
14,6 
15,2 

14,8 
13,2 

14,5 
14  8 


Boussingault, 
Wunder. 
Poison. 
Peligot. 


From  Hessia., 
"  France. 
"     Saxony 


RYE. 

[3  6150,51  8,9|o,9| 
11,6  56,5  10,2  i,9| 

9,i|64,9    0,412,31 
9,6|56,7|  6,4l2,il 

BARLEY. 


10,1  li, 8 

3.5|2,2 

3,5|i,4 

8,513,3 


15,0 

^8,3 
^6,5 


From  Salzmiinde,  Prussia... 


'o»5  5o,3|  5,5 
'3,2  53,7  4,2 
9,3|6o,4l   1,2 


2,ol  13,6 

=  1,5 
9,7 


2,o| 


3,8| 
2,8 

2,4 


15,7 

I2,Oi 

I  5,0  I 


OATS. 

8,8  55,4 

2,5  6,4 

9,6  2,7|i4,6| 

15,7  32,2 





4,1 

12,9 

10,2' 

6,1 

10,0 

2,7 

12,6' 

Husked,  from  Vienna. 


Unhusked. 


From  Saxony 

"     America... 

«     Galacz 

*'     Switzerland 


BUCKWHEAT. 

2,6|78,9|  3,8|o,9l  i,o|...| 
3,676,7    4,31,3     1.3  — 

t3,i| 1 13,91    3,5l2,5l 

8'5|37,8| |...| |2,o| 

9,1145,0'   7,i'o,4'22,o'2,4' 

MAIZE. 

8,8l58,o|  5,3|9,2l  4,9|3,2| 
8,8|54,4|  2,7  4,6|  15,8  1,7 '1 
9,i|49,5l  2,9|4,5|2o,4|i,8, 

151,21  6,713,8112,51  ...| 

RICE. 


12,7 
13,7 
13,0 
14,2 
14,0 


Fresenius. 

Payen. 

A.  Miiller. 

Wolff. 


Wolff. 
Poison. 
Grouven. 

A.  Muller. 

Krocker. 

Anderson. 


iBibra. 

[Boussingault. 
Horsford  &  Krocker, 
'Zcnneck. 


Hellriegel. 
Poison. 


10,5 
12,0 
11,8       " 
10,6 IBibra. 


From  Piemont.... 

<'     Patna 

"     Piemont.... 
"     East  Indies. 


Husked,  Hagenau,... 
"        Nuremberg. 


7,5 ••   "0,5  0,9  0,51 

■|  7,279,9    i,6|o,i  o,5|o,9 

■I  7,8| I |0,2|  3,410,3  I 

I   5,9173,9!  2,310,91  2,ol  ...| 

MILLET. 

|20,6| I l3,o|  2.4l2,2| 

.|io,3'57,o'ii,o'8,o'  2,0'  ..." 


14,6 

9,8 

13,7 
14,0 


14,0 
12.2 


Boussingault. 
Poison. 
Peligot. 
Bibra. 


Boussingault. 
Bibra. 


68 


TABLE  V. 

DETAILED  ANALYSES  OF  POTATOES,  by  Grouven. 
{Agricultur-Chemie,  %H  Auf^pp,  495  ^  355.) 


White  Potatoes,  newly  dug.      1 

Varioui  Sorts^    A'ver- 

Unmanured. 

Manured. 

age  of  i<)  Analyses. 

Water 

74,95 
o»47l 
0,04  ! 
0,29            ' 

1,31, 

0,76 
2,00 
0,07 

17,33 

11,90 

0,88 

78,01 
0,89-] 

0,25  r    ^'  y 
2,02 
1,56 
1,50 
0,05 
13,40 
1,24 
1,05 

76,00 

Albumin 

Casein 

Gliadin  &  Mucidin  [?] 

Veg.  Fibrin 

2,80 

1,81 

Fat 

0,30 

15,24 

1,01 

Starch  

Cellubose 

Ash 

0,95 

100 

100. 

TABLE  VI. 

DETAILED  ANALYSES  OF  SUGAR  BEETS. 


11 

-3 

1 

c 

« 

M 

4^ 

0 

v." 

1 

-5! 

Analyst. 


Hohenheim  

Moeckern , 

"         2  lbs. 

J  lbs. 

Bickendorf,    li 


Slanstadt,  2  lbs 

Lockwitz,  i^  lbs 

Tharand,  i^  lbs    manured 

"       2  lbs.  manured 

'*       ^\  lbs.  manured 

"       4  lbs.  manured 

Silesia,  unmanured ...., 

"     manured  with  nitrate  of  soda. 
"     man'd  with  phosphate  of  lime 


Average 81,5  0,95 


5 
84,1 

81,7 

79,5 

70,0 

80,0 

79,9 

82,7 
81 
82 
82,5 

84.4 
82,7 
84 


0,87 
2 

0,84 
0,90 
0,70 

0,68 
0,65 

0-93 
1,16 

i,H 

1,05 
1,14 
1,42 
1,20 


11,90 

9,10 

11,21 

12,07 
12,90 

13,37 

13,32 

12,34 

10,15 

9.25 

8.45 

9,80 

11,57 
9,82 


11,5 


3,47 
3,90 
3,86 

5,09 
5,00 


1,33 
1,05 

1,36 
1,52 
1.20 


5,21 
5,53 
3,24 
5,77 
6,36 
7,07 
3,96 
3,63 
4,04 


0,89 
0,99 

0,94 
0,88 
0,70 

0,74 
0,60 

0,79 
1. 12 
1. 15 

0,93 
0,69 
0,68 

0,77 


Wolff, 
Ritthausen. 


Grou\ 


Stockhardt. 


Bretschneider. 


3,7!    1,3  0.85 


69 


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72 
TABLE  YIII. 

FRUITS  ARRANGED  IN  THE  ORDER  OF  THEIR  CONTENT  OF  SUGAR. 

(average)  Fresenius. 


Peaches 

Apricots , 

Plums 

Rcineclaudes... 

Mirabelles 

Raspberries 

Blackberries.... 
Strawberries.... 
Whortleberries. 


per 


cent. 

t.6 

1,8 

2,1 

.3,6 
.4,0 
■4  4 

•5.7 
■5,8 


per  cent. 

Currants 6,1 

Prunes 6,5 

Gooseberries 7,  z 

Red  pears 7,5 

Apples 8,4 

Sour  cheiries 8,8 

Mulberries 9,2 

Sweet  cherries 10.8 

Grapes 14,9 


TABLE  IX. 

FRUITS  ARRANGED  IN  THE  ORDER  OF  THEIR  CONTENT  OF  FREE 
ACID  EXPRESSED  AS  HYDRATE  OF  MALIC  ACID,  (average)  Fresenious. 


per  cent. 

Red  pears o  i 

Mirabelles 0,6 

Sweet  cherries 0,6 

Peaches 0,7 

Grapes 0,7 

Apples  0,8 

Prunes 0,9 

Reineclaudes 0,9 

Apricots 1,1 


Blackberries 1,2 

Sour  cherries 1,3 

Plums 1,3 

Whortleberries 1,3 

Strawberries 1,3 

Gooseberries 1,5 

Raspberries 1.5 

Mulberries i,Q 

Currants 2,c 


TABLE  X. 

FRUITS  ARRANGED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  PROPORTIONS  BETWEEN 
ACID,  SUGAR,  PECTIN,  AND  GUM,  ETQ.,  (averages)  Fresenius. 


Acid.  I  Sugar.  |  Pectin^  Gum^  etc. 


Plums I 

Apricots I  I 

Peaches .....  i 

Raspberries i 

Currants |  i 

Rcineclaudes I  i 

Blackberries !  I 

Whortleberries |  i 

Strawberries I  i 

Gooseberries i 

Mulberries |  I 

Mirabelles I  i 

Sour  cherries |  i 

Prunes 1  i 

Apples. I  I 

Sweet  cherries I  i 

Grapes i 

Red  pears |  i 


1,6 1 

3  J 

1,7   1 

6,4 

^,3 

11,9 

2.7 

1,0 

30  1 

0,1 

3-4 

11,8 

3  7   1 

1,2 

4-3   1 

0,4 

44 

0,1 

49  1 

0,8 

49   1 

^>i 

6,2  1 

9,9 

6.9 

1,4 

7  0 

4,4 

11,2 

5,6 

17,3   1 

2,8 

20,2 

2,0 

94,6 

44,4 

73 
TABLE  XI. 


FRUITS  ARRANGED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  PROPORTIONS  BETWEEN 

WATER,  SOLUBLE  MATTERS,  AND  INSOLUBLE  MATTERS. 

(averages)  Fresenious. 


''ater. 

Soluble  Matter. 

lOO 

9»i 

lOO 

9>3 

lOO 

9.4 

lOO 

9»7 

loo 

II, O 

lOO 

12,1 

loo 

12,2 

lOO 

13.0 

lOO 

i3»3 

lOO 

14,3 

lOO 

14,6 

lOO 

15,3 

lOO 

16,5 

lOO 

16,6 

ICO 

16,9 

lOO 

18,5 

I  Op 

18,6 

lOO 

22,8 

Insoluble  Matter. 


Raspberries.... 
Blackberries... 
Strawberries,... 
Plums...,...,.. 

Currants 

Whortleberries 
Gooseberries... 

Mirabelles 

Apricots 

Red  pears  

Peaches 

Prunes 

Sour  cherries.. 

Mulberries 

Apples 

Reineclaudes.. 

Cherries 

Grapes 


6,9 
6.5 
5.2 
0,9 
6.6 
16,9 
3,6 
1,5 
2,1 

5»5 
2,1 

3,2 
1,3 
1,5 
3,6 
1,2 

1.5 

5,8 


TABLE  Xll 


PROPORTION  OF  OIL  IN  VARIOUS  AIR-DRY  SEEDS,  according  to  Berjot. 

(Knop's  Agricultur    Chemie,  p.  725.) 

(The  air-dry  seeds  contain  10-12  per  cent   of  hygroscopic  water.) 


Colza,  common 40- 

"       Schirmraps 

"       red  India 

"       white   ''  

Flax 

Poppy 40- 

Sesame  

Mustard,  white 

black  

Hemp 

Peanut 


Gold  of  Pleasure 35 

Watermelon 36 

Charlock 15-4^ 


Orange 

Colocynth.. 

Cherry 

Almond.... 

Potato 

Buckthorn. 

Currant 

Beechnut... 


40 
16 
42 
40 
16 
16 
26 
-4 


IISTIDEX:. 


Page. 
AGRICULTURAL  PLANTS  AND  PRODUCTS— 

Proximate — Composition  of,  giving  average  quantity 

of  Water,  Organic  Matter,  &c  .  63 

Hay 63 

Straw 64 

Chaff  and  Hullfl 64 

Green  Fodder 64 

Roots  and  Tubers 65 

Grains  and    Seeds    65 

Refuse 66 

Coffee  and  Tea 66 

ALUMINA— In  the  Soil 19 

AMMONIACAL   PLANTS 47 

APATITE ..  4l 

ASH  OP  AGRICULTURAL  PLANTS  AND  PRODUCTS— 

Table  of  Composition  of 53 

Meadow  Hay  and  Grass 53 

Clover  and  Fodder  Plants 53 

Root  Crops.- 54 

Leaves  and  Skins  of  Root  Plants 54 

Refuse  and  Manufactured  Products 54 

Straw    55 

Chaff,  Etc 55 

Textile  Plants,  Etc 55 

Litter 55 

GRAINS  AND  SEEDS  OF  AGRICULTURAL  PLANTS  56 

FRUITS  AND  SEEDS  OF  TREES,  ETC 56 

Leaves  of  Trees ... 57 

Wood 57 

Bark 57 

BARLEY— Composition   of 25 

BONE  ASH 41 

BONE  BLACK 41 

BREAD  GRAINS— Detailed   Analysis  of 67 

CHLORINE  AND  FLUORINE~ln  the  Soil 21 

COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS    41 

COMMERCIAL  (FERTILIZERS— Their  Manufacture 48 

COMPOST  PILE— How  to  Make  and  Manage       38 

COMPOSTED  FERTILIZERS— Application  of  to   differ- 
ent Grades  of  Lands.     By  a  Farmer 39 


75 

PAGE. 

COMPOSTING— Art  of 34 

COPEOLTTBS 42 

DISINTEGRATING  AND  SCREENING  OP  COMMER- 
CIAL FERTILIZERS 51 

FERTILIZERS— Components  of,  and  where  found 30 

FRESH  (OR  AIR-DRY)  AGRICULTURAL  PEODUCTS— 

Table  of  Composition  of 58 

Hay    58 

Green   Fodder 58 

Root  Crops 58 

Leaves  and  Stems  of  Root  Crops  59 

Manufactured  Products  and  Refuse 59 

Straw :. ....  60 

Chaff 60 

Textile  Plants,  etc 60 

Litter 60 

Grains  and  Seeds  of  Agricultural  Plants 61 

Fruits  and  Seeds  of  Trees,  etc 61 

Leaves  of  Trees 61 

Wood,    Air-Dry 6*4 

Bark 62 

FRUITS— Arranged  in  theOrder  of  their  Content  of  Sugar  72 
FEUITS — Arranajed    According   to   the    Proportions    be- 
tween Acid,  Sugar,  Pectin  and  Gases,  etc 72 

FRUITS— Arranged   in    the   Order   of    their   Content  of 

Free   Acid 72 

FRUITS — Arranged  According  to  the  Proportions  be- 
tween Water,  Soluble  Matters  and  Insoluble  Mat- 
ters   73 

FRUITS  -Composition  of 69,70,71 

G RO WTH  OF  PLANTS,  AND  MO DES  OF  IMPKOYING  10 

INDIAN  CORN— Composition  of 23 

INORGANIC  ELEMENTS  IN  PLANTS 28 

INTRODUCTION 5 

LIME— In  the  Soil 20 

MAGNESIA— In  the  Soil 20 

MIXING  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZEES 50 

NATURAL  (CEUDE)  PHOSPHATES  OF  LIME— 

Analytical  Table  of  the  Comparative  Composition....  44 

NAYASSA  GUANO.. 43 

NITRATE  OF   POTASH 47 

NITRATE  OF   SODA 46 

OATS— Composition  of 24 

ORCHILLA    GUANO 43 

OXIDEOF  IRON— In  the  Soil 20 

PERCENTAGE   OF   MOISTURE,  ALBUMEN,  &c.,  IN 

DIFFERENT    PEODUCTS 29 

PERUYIAN  GUANO • 45 


76 

PAGE. 

PHOSPHATES— South  Carolina 43 

PHOSPHOEITE 42 

PHOSPHORUS— In  theSoil 21 

PHOSPHATE  ROCK— Drying  and  Grinding  of 49 

PLANTS— Composition  of,  i&c 22 

POTATOES— Composition  of 25 

POTATOES— Detailed  Analysis  of.  68 

POTASH— In  the  Soil 21 

POTASH  47 

PREFACE 3 

ROSSA   (ORGUAYAMAS)   GUANO 42 

RYE— Composition  of 24 

SEEDS— PROPORTION  OF  OIL  IN  VARIOUS- 

AIR  DRY 73 

SILICA— In  the  Soil 19 

SODA— In  the  Soil 21 

SOMBRERO 43 

SOIL— Analysis  of 16-17-18 

SOIL— Origin  of 14 

vSOIL — Organic  Substances  of 19 

SUGAR  BEETS— Detailed  Analysis  of 68 

SULPHATE  AMMONIA 46 

SULPHATE  OF  LIME   (GYPSUM  OR  LAND    PLAS- 
TER)   47 

SULPHUR— In  the  Soil 21 


WM.  C.  BEE  Sl  CO.,  Genl  Agents, 

The  Etiwan  Grnano,  Dissolved  Bone, 

AND 

CROP  FOOD    CHEMICALS 

Of  the  ETIWAN  WORKS,  can  be  obtained  from  the  follow- 
ing parties  : 

AGNEWS  &  MATTISON, Donaldsville,  S.  C. 

Dr.  JOHN  A.  BARKSDALE, Laurens,  S.  C 

BAILEY   &    BLAKELY.  .    / Clinton,  S.  C. 

J.  ,A.  CANNON,  .    . Pomaria,  S.  C. 

GEO.   H.    CORNELSON, Orangeburg,  S.  C. 

CLAYTON  &  CO.,  .    .    .    .  • Central,  S.  C. 

CONNOR    &   HODGES, Hodges'  Depot,  S.  C. 

B.  F.  CRAYTON  &  SONS, Anderson.  S.  C. 

A.  H.  DEAN, Vernonsville,  S.  C. 

R.  S.  DESPORTES  &  BRO., Ridgeway,  S.  C. 

C.  E.    FLEMING, Spartanburg,  S.  C. 

J.D.HILL, Bennettsville.  S.  C. 

J.  D.  HOGAN   &  CO Doko,  S.  C. 

T.   A.   HUDGENS, Honea  Path,  S.  C. 

W.  H.  KENNEDY, Williston,  S.  C. 

HUGH  LEAMAN, Cross  Hill,  S.  C. 

LEWIE,  LEWIE  &  GRIFFITH, Summit,  S.  C 

LEWIE,  LEWIE  &  OSWALD,  .    .    .  Barr's  Landing,  S.  C. 

T.  C.  LIPSCOMB  &  SONS Ninety-Six,  S.  C. 

JOHN  R.  LONDON, Rock  Hill,  S.  C. 

A.  J.  McCAUGHRIN  &  CO., Newberry,  S.  C. 

W.  H.  McCORKLE, Yorkville,  S.  C. 

JOHN  H.  McIVER, Cheraw,  S.  C. 

McMASTER  &  BRICE, Winnsboro,  S.  C. 

MERRITT  &  MERRITT, Ridge  Springs,  S.  C 

MERRITT  &  PLUNKETT, Batesburg,  S.  C. 

T.  P.  MITCHELL, Blackstocks,  S.  C. 

W.  G.  MOOD, Aiken,  S.  C. 

T.  C.  MOODY, Marion,  S.  C. 


WM.  C.  BEE  &  CO.,  Genl  Agents, 

The  Etiwan  Guano,  Dissolved  Bone, 

AND 

CROP  FOOD   CHEMICALS 

Of  the  ETIWAN  WORKS,  can  be  obtained  from  the  follow- 
ing parties  : 

OLDHAM  &  COLEMAN Greenwood,  S.  C. 

LORICK   &   LOWRANCE Columbia,  S.  C. 

J.    B.    ROGERS, Williamston,  S.  C. 

THOS.    W.    RUSSELL, Easley's  Station,  S.  C. 

J.  S.  M.  SMITH, Timmonsville,  S.  C. 

A.  W.  THOMSON  &  CO.,  .•......,.  Union,  S.  C. 

WALLER,  WATSON  &  CO., Walhalla,  S.  C. 

J.  W.    WATTS, Martin's  Depot,  S.  C. 

WHITE  BROS., Abbeville,  S.  C. 

WHITE.  STEWART  &  CO., Fort  Mills,  S.  C. 

L.   WILLIAMS, Greenville,  S.  C. 

WYLIE  &  AGURS, •   .  Chester,  S.  C. 

BARNHART  &  KIMBROUGH Greensboro,  Ga. 

EDWARD  BANCROFT Athens,  Ga. 

T.  W.  BAXTER Cartersville,  Ga. 

BERRYS  &  CO Rome,  Ga. 

B.  F.  BRIMBERRY, Camilla,  Ga. 

T.   W.   BAGGERLY Senoia,  Ga. 

D.  R.  CREECH, Quitman,  Ga. 

J.  B.  CRIM, Dawson,  Ga. 

P.  H.  COMPTON  &  SONS, MilledgeviUe,  Ga. 

DANIEL  &  ROWLAND, Augusta,  Ga. 

JOE  DAVISON, Woodville,  Ga. 

ECKLES  &  ABERCOMBIE, Social  Circle,  Ga. 

H.    F.   GRANT, Savannah,  Ga. 

HUNT,  RANKIN  &  LAMAR, Macon,  Ga. 

HUNT,  RANKIN  &  LAMAR, Atlanta,  Ga. 

ARTHUR  HUTCHISON, Palmettto,  Ga. 


WM.  C.  BEE  &  CO.,  Genl  Agents. 

The  Etiwan  G-nano,  Dissolved  Bone, 

AND 

CROP  FOOD   CHEMICALS 

Of  the  ETIWAN  WORKS,  can  be  obtained  from  the  follow- 
ing parties  : 

J.  N.  HUTCHINSON  &  BRO., Hogansville,  Ga. 

RUS.  P.  JOHNSON, Griffin,  Ga. 

J.  W.  JORDAN,  Jr., * Americus,  Ga. 

E.  G.  KRAMER Carrollton,  Ga. 

MAXWELLS  &  HIGDON, Harrell,  Ga. 

MOSS  &  WILSON, White  Plains,  Ga. 

T.  W.  POWELL, Newnan,  Ga. 

J.  R.  SCOTT, West  Point,  Ga. 

G.  B.  STOVALL, Madison,  Ga- 

W.  C.  TIMBERLAKE  &  CO., Fort  Valley,  Ga. 

WINTERS  &  WHITLOCK, Marietta,  Ga. 

G.  A.  WIGHT, Whighan,  Ga. 

WIGHT  &  POWELL, Cairo,  Ga. 

W.  T.  YOUNG  &  CO., Eatonton,  Ga. 

W.  G.  BARBEE, High  Point,  N.  C. 

BURROUGHS  &  SPRINGS, Charlotte,  N.  C. 

P.  C.  CARLTON, Statesville,  N.  C. 

O.  C.  FARRAR  &  CO.,      Tarboro,  N.  C. 

GREGORY  &  GALLOWAY,  ......  Goldsboro,  N.  C. 

H.  P.  HELPER, Davidson's  College,  N.  C. 

J.  E.  HENDRIX, Hickory,  N.  C 

HILL,  PAYNE  &  WELBORN, Lexington,  N.  C. 

J.  LYNN  McABOY, Columbus,  N.  C. 

McCORMAC  &  JACKSON, Shoeheel,  N.  C. 

MAUNEY  BROS.  &  ROBERTS,  .  .  King's  Mountain,  N.  C. 

MELKE  &  JONES Lumberton,  N.  C. 

MILLER  BROS., Shelby,  N.  C. 

MONTGOMERY  &  DOWD, Concord,  N.  C. 


WM.  C.  BEE  &  CO.,  Genl  Agents, 

The  Etiwan  G-nano,  Dissolved  Bone, 

AND 

CROP  FOOD    CHEMICALS 

Of  the  ETIWAN  WORKS,  can  be  obtained  from  the  follow- 
ing parties  : 

J.  T.  MOORE, Mooresville,  N.  C. 

C.  &  W.  H.  MOTZ, Lincolnton,  N,  C. 

M.  ROUNDTREE  &  CO., Wilson,  N.  C. 

H.  H.  SKINNER, Hertford,  N.  C. 

JAMES  SLOAN'S  SONS Greensboro,  N.  C. 

W.  D.  SMITH  &  CO., Fayetteville,  N.  C. 

ALEX.  SPRUNT  &  SON, Wilmington.  N.  C. 

J.  D.  STEWART Monroe,  N.  C. 

WILLIAMSON,  UPCHURCH  &  THOMAS,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

D.  R  GUNNELS  &  CO., Oxford,  Ala. 

J.R.HORNER, Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 

R.  A.  SOLOMON, Eufaula,  Ala. 

R.  L.  HICKSON, Danville,  Va. 

LEE,  TAYLOR  &  CO., Lynchburg,  Va. 

A.  S.  LEE Richmond,  Va. 

J.  I.  MIDDLETON  &  CO., Baltimore,  Md. 


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STAMPED  BELOW 


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